No Excuses

I love my husband.  I don’t love him because he buys me flowers.  I love him not because he cooks for me.  My love for him is not dependent on him going out of his way to make me happy.  I don’t love him because of how hard he works.  Those are all benefits to the life that we share.  Those are all wonderful side effects to our marriage.  But they are not the reason that I love him.  If they were, then would I stop loving him when he stops buying me flowers?  Would my love for him change if he chose not to cook for me or take care of me?  Life would be a bit more difficult, but my love for him would not change.  I would still love him.

Unfortunately we live in a sinful world.  We do things that upset each other.  I might say something hurtful.  He might make a decision without discussing it with me.  It happens.  But guess what?  I still love him.  He still loves me (or at least I think he does ;) ).  We might need some space from each other, some alone time.  But we never leave each other.  We might not like each other for a minute or two.  But we still love each other. 

This is similar to the love of God.  He doesn’t love us because we feed the poor.  He doesn’t love us  for telling others about Him.   His love for us isn’t dependent on us spending time with Him.  He doesn’t love us because of the kind words we use towards others.  These are side effects of our relationship with God.  But they are not reasons He loves us.  We do these things because we love Him in return.  If they were reasons why God loves us, then wouldn’t that mean He would stop loving us if we stopped honoring Him?  Wouldn’t that mean He would have a reason to love us less or to even love us more?   We can’t make God love us more than He loves us now.  In the same way we can’t do something to make Him love us less than He does now. 

Unfortunately we do live in a sinful world.  We do things that make God sad.  We might say hurtful things to other people.  We might make decisions without involving God.  It happens.  We are human and we are sinners.  There are even times we might try to push God away.  But this is the wonderful thing about God.  He is not human.    Even though we turn our backs on God, He is still there.  He will not leave or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6).  And no matter what, He still loves us. 

This is important to remember.  God loves you.  Period.  No excuses.  No reasons.  So when you think He doesn’t love you.  When you think you are not good enough.  When you think you are unworthy.  When you think you could be doing more so God will love you more.  Remember that God loves you.  You can’t make God love you. You can’t make God unlove you.  You can only accept His love in return.  The way you live your life is in response to His love and yours in return.

 

So stop making excuses for why God doesn’t love you.  Stop comparing yourself to someone else.  He loves you.  Accept His love.  You can do this only By God’s Amazing Grace.