The love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

The security we have in our Lord and our Lord’s love is unlike the security or love we experience in any other relationship.  This truth is nothing new; we hear this all the time.  And we believe it, while we fail to experience it.  It is mind-blowing.  It is life-changing.  It is eternal.  And like most of God’s qualities, it baffles me.

If anybody is entitled to do whatever he wants, it is certainly God.  God, the most powerful being who was, and is, and is to come, has every right to be inconsistent.  God has every right to leave us to ourselves.  God has every right to not follow through.  God, by His sovereignty, has all authority to be contrary to the God we know—and to still remain God.  Our Father, the most loving being that will ever exist, has the absolute prerogative to withhold His love or to love us conditionally.  Our Lord, the epitome of grace, would be wholly justified in condemning us. 

But because God is consistent; because God does not leave us to ourselves; because God loves us unconditionally; because God is full of grace; because God’s qualities are unchanging; because God is infinite, we are secure in God.  

We must ground our understanding of God’s love in truth before we are able to fully experience the love of God that is Christ Jesus.

And because our relationship with Christ is unlike any other relationship, we must be careful how we characterize our relationship with Christ.   If our characterization of our relationship with God is based on our experiences with any other, we must be scrupulous to address any mischaracterizations of God’s love.  While much of my understanding of God is based on my relationships with those I love and those who love me, I must be careful to confirm those as truth.  And I am not just talking about bad characterizations.  We often project wonderful qualities we experience in those who love us onto God—and perhaps those characterizations are not premised on truth either.

The love of parents, the love of spouses, the love of family, and the love of friends certainly help us better understand God’s love.  But, God’s love does not stop there.  While my spouse; while my parents; while my grandparents; while my friends have very much exemplified what love is—what God’s love is—they will never be able to love me like God does.  And even though a parent or any other human being has loved you with everything they have and in the purest sense of love, that love will never be as perfect, as unconditional, or as whole as God’s love for you. 

I must identify the characteristics of the relationships that I have projected onto God that do not align with God’s Word.  I must separate them from my understanding of God’s love.  You must do this too.  For the godly love we have experienced, we must understand that God’s love goes far beyond that. 

Because of this love, we are secure in God.  We can be secure in no other love or individual, but we are secure in our Lord. 

When we lose everything, we do not lose the love of our Lord.  When we stumble through the valleys of life; when we commit the most repulsive act imaginable; when we deny God; when we repeatedly fail; when we do these things again and again, we still remain in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.  And if that is all we ever have, it is far more than we could ever ask.  And it is far more than we will ever need.  And we are secure in it. 

Praise God, praise God for the unending, all-encompassing love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8:38, 39 NIV).

“Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.”  (Psalm 16:5 NIV).

“[T]hrough the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.”  (Psalm 21:7 NIV).   

“If I go to the heavens, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”  (Psalm 139:8-10 NIV).

 

There's nothing like starting the day with a party in your mouth.

Much love to you,

Paige