I
grew up and then married into homes with conditional love. As a child, I wished
on the first star every night that I would be good, so my parents would love
me. As a young bride, I tried to do everything my husband wanted, so I would
earn his appreciation and love. As a baby Christian, I made continual lists of
every commandment, which I discovered in God’s Word, so that I could earn God’s
love.
I
strove for half my life to win approval from those I loved. It was ten years
after I came to Christ that I finally realized that God’s love is not only a
free and unconditional gift, but that it also lasts forever (1 John 3:1). We trust in God’s
love for Salvation, and we can trust in His love for every area of our life (Psalm 86:14; Galatians
3:1-3).
We do not need to spend time or energy on trying to earn
God’s love (John 3:16, Romans 5:8). Even when we were dead in sin, God’s great mercy and love reached out and saved
us (Ephesians 2:4-5; 1 John 4:9-11). Nothing in heaven or earth can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:35-39). We are crucified with Christ and
He loves us too, and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20).
We cannot be good enough, holy enough or spiritual enough to deserve God’s
love (Hebrews 4:9-12). It is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). If the Christian walk depended on
us, then we would have no need for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. As we allow
the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit to fill our soul and spirit to the point
of saturation, we bask in the Sonshine of His love.
Prayer:
Father God, as baby Christians, we continue to experience
negative thoughts and attitudes, but we want to have Your mind within us. Remind
us to set our boundaries to protect us from the negative people in our lives
that tear us down (1 Corinthians 11:1). Please bring us to a place of inner healing and help us to walk in
complete serenity through faith in Your goodness (Jobs 34:19). You live in us, rejoice over us with joy, quiet us by Your
love and exult over us with singing (Zephaniah 2:17). You diminish all of our fears and insecurities, because You care about us (1 Peter 5:6-7).
Since God in us is love, we can love and forgive our self
and love one another. – 1 John 4:7-8
