Dear one, do you know that the Father’s love for you is
immutable, unending, extravagant, powerful, restorative, abundant,
unconditional, tender, and…….so much more? Our words fail to fully summarize
God’s love.
Paul reminds us that this love is irrevocable:
I am convinced that nothing can ever
separate us from God’s love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us. We can’t be
separated by death or life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or
anything in the future, by forces or powers in the world above or in the world
below, or by anything else in creation. (Romans 8:38&39)
And in the gospel according to Luke, Christ
tells the parable of the lost son who left his father in haste and rebellion
but when he eventually “came to his senses” and decided to humbly return to his
father, the father behaved like this:
But while he was still a long way off, his
father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw
his arms around him and kissed him…But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick!
Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on
his feet. Bring the fattened calf and
kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine
was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ (Luke 15:20, 22-24)
And the whole household celebrated! This is
a picture of our heavenly Father. He loves us with an extravagant, gracious, and
compassionate love! No matter what you have done – your involvement in deadly
things or a wretched life…no matter what rulers of darkness try to do…no matter
what your current circumstances are or what is to come…no matter how man on
this earth or spirits inspired by satan launch an attack upon you – nothing can
separate you from the love of your heavenly Father. He loves you. Even if you
have been an opponent of His...even if you are not interested in a relationship
with Him...even if you have made a clear choice to live in opposition to Him - you need to know that He loves you. Check
this out:
Look
at it this way: At the right time, while we were still helpless, Christ died
for ungodly people. Finding someone who would die for a godly person is rare.
Maybe someone would have the courage to die for a good person. Christ
died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us. Since
Christ’s blood has now given us God’s approval, we are even more certain that
Christ will save us from God’s anger. If the death of his Son restored our
relationship with God while we were still his enemies, we are even more certain
that, because of this restored relationship, the life of his Son will save us. (Romans
5:6-10)
So
this love God has for you…never ending. And, in fact, through Christ, He made
sure that when you are ready, you could come to Him and live eternally in
heaven with Him. Accepting the sacrifice of Christ is the key to living in this
restored relationship.
So!
If you’re living a rebellious life and don’t think that God wants anything to
do with you, you’re wrong. He loves you and if you come to Him, He will welcome
you with open arms and He, along with all of heaven, will celebrate.
If
you are not living a rebellious life, and have accepted Christ as your Savior,
but have deviated and gotten off track. God loves you too and will welcome you
back with open arms and a celebration!
He
who created us knows us! He knows every sin of our past, present, and future.
And He sent Christ to pay the price for that sin (the death penalty) on our
behalf so that we may freely accept His sacrifice and live the abundant life
that He desires for us.
The thief does not come except to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they
may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
No matter where you are in life, the
Father, with abounding love, desires to be in restored relationship with you.
Don’t worry about “getting it together” first. Come to Him and He’ll do the
work of “getting it together”.
And I am sure that God who began the good
work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task
within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.
(Philippians 1:6)
Thank You Lord for Your wondrous love!
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