Lately, I have been pondering on what it would look like to live a life completely rooted in the perfect love of Christ.
I realize, the earthly me won’t ever fully comprehend just how high , how wide and how deep God’s love for me is. But, with that being said, one thing that I have come to learn over the last 28 years of knowing Jesus is this:
The more time I spend with Him, the more my love grows for Him and the better I understand the vastness of His love for me.
So, what does this earth-shaking, mountain-moving, beautiful kind of love look like?
Let’s see what Paul, the author of Romans, has to say bout it:
He writes:
“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” Romans 8:31-39 MSG
At the beginning of this blog post, I told you that I have been pondering on the perfect love of God. What I didn’t tell you, is the reason for the pondering…..
Ever since I can remember, I have struggled with these two things:
1. People pleasing
&
2. Loving in hopes of gaining something in return
Through several different avenues, the Holy Spirit has been showing me that the perfect love of Christ eliminates my need for the above. Because of Him, I don’t have to people please my way through life; and it allows me to love people freely without expecting anything in return. Just the thought of this is incredibly freeing. But I desire more than just a thought — I desire for His perfect love to transform me from the inside out.
So, what exactly about God’s love is so freeing?
Well….I think I could type out pages and pages in efforts to try and answer this question. But instead, I would like to focus in on one word. A word that Paul wrote in the passage I shared earlier on. A word that I believe he included because there is no exclusive list of “things” that can separate us from God’s love. A word that means “no single thing.”
NOTHING
Nothing you or I do will ever stop God from loving us. Never will He cancel our Sonship or Daughtership because of our failures and shortcomings. God still sees us as righteous and holy on our worst of days. Our identity in Christ is forever secure because of His death and resurrection on the cross. This my friends, is what freedom looks like!
I recently came across a quote by Jack Miller. I love the way he explains the gospel:
“Cheer up; you’re a lot worse off than you think you are, but in Jesus you’re far more loved than you could have ever imagined.”
Despite our messed-up selves, God still loves us. And not only does He love us, He does it perfectly! What a gift!
So, instead of me searching for affirmation and security in others, I can choose to wakup each morning and walk in the perfect love God has for me. When doing so, I am less likely to define my value in how well I please or fail to please others nor is it defined in how well others love me. I simply get to love others freely because of the love the Father has for me. What a a beautiful way to live!
Today, spend some time basking in the Father’s love for you. May His love move you to love those around you, not because we need something in return, rather, loving because He first loved us.
Casey Rolape is the Founder and President of Worth the Risk. She has been married to her husband, Michael, for almost thirteen years. Together, they have the privilege and honor of caring for their four children: Will, Ben, Emmie and Hux. Some of Casey’s favorite things include her family, friends, lots of coffee, playing volleyball and spike ball, authentic conversations, a good Netflix series (while cuddled up next to her husband), writing and speaking for the glory of God and seeing her Creator move in the hearts of women.
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