“‎::Sometimes, we’re so busy casting God as the Guy who punishes sin, that we forget He’s also the Guy who DELIVERS from sin…the God who loves us and wants so much better for us than the chains we’re so fond of…the very chains killing us. Jesus is LIFE!:: #OnlyGrace”

Welcome to my FB status for today.

It’s really been bugging me…this idea that God has some kind of ranking system for sin, or expiry date for His love, and that after a while, we’ve pushed it too much, and it’s thumbs down time…off with your head. I have felt that way many times (like, MANY times), and I realised that it is a reflection of who I believe God to be. It is as if, because I have changed so much and gone so far from principles I used to hold dear, I believe that God’s view of me has changed as well…that God has changed.

Think about it, though. If you gave everything you had, your most valuable possession, just to make it possible for people to understand that you love them, what would make you decide it’s no longer worth it? The bar is set as high as it can possibly go…the highest price has been paid. What could make you decide to withhold love from an individual for whom you have already poured out ALL your love, that is, the ultimate expression of that love?

Would it be because that person had a bad year/week/way-too-long and went on a path of self-destruction? Are you likely to stop loving people because they are ruining their lives? Why, then, do we want to give God that role?

Do we even understand this salvation we’re inviting people to share? If we believe God is out to get us because we’re messed up (and because we mess up), why would anyone want to join us? Is the notion of becoming God’s next target so appealing?

Even if we hate ourselves, God doesn’t hate us. ♫Jesus loves me, this I know…♫? God doesn’t hate us because we sin. God doesn’t hate us, full stop. It is because God loves us so much that He has to keep us away from sin, because sin is both degenerative and inherently destructive. It exists for no purpose but the destruction of God’s creation.

A loving Creator doesn’t want us hiding from Him…running from Him. He wants us hiding in Him…running to Him, weaknesses and all. That is the whole point of grace…not that we are free to sin, but that we are free from sin…because He loves us.

Remember the grace.  He saw us coming, man… and He chose us, for His glory.

Romans 5:8 (NIV)

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I like this song: