I don't have to do anything for God to love me.
This is shockingly simple, yet it's the most amazing thing I think a person can realize. I realized it today. He loves me. He loves me even though I fail Him every day. He loves me even though I feel like I don't have a place in this world. He loves me even though some days I just want to yell and scream at Him.
How I ever lived with forgetting that is beyond me.
He just loves me.
He loves me with passion.
And I've been living life out of sorts. I've been living life like I'm supposed to be perfect all the time for him to love me, and that's just not how it is. God expecting me to be perfect is kind of like a father expecting his kindergartner to do Calculus. And guess what! His love is there for me anyway.
I forgot about the time in my life when my faith was as simple as this: God, I'll do my best, but I'm not too good at this, and You'll have to take care of the rest.
And that was all that was necessary.
He loves me! He loves me! HE loves ME!! He loves me!
It's true we don't have to be perfect for God to love us, but I sometimes find it difficult to understand what Jesus meant when He said these things which seem to say the opposite.
ReplyDeleteJohn 14:21 Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them."
John 15:10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.
And are we not supposed to love with exactly the same love He loves us with? (Eph 4:32-5:2, Col. 3:13) John 15:12 "This is my commandment, That ye love one another as I have loved you."
So do you expect your friends to be perfect & say all of what you want to hear & just drop them if they don't? God disagrees with some things we say & do, but does not easily reject us. Does this not seem to be hypocritical?
I'm sorry for things I said to you that you took offense at which were not written well enough to convey my meaning, as I never meant any offense & never called you anything and you both completely misunderstood me & over-reacted just as you accused me of. Do you think God loves me some other way than the way you believe He loves you? Will you not forgive me & show the love you say here God has to you or will you show me some other love?
1 John 4:11 You who are dearly loved, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love each other the same way.
Chris Wood
P.S. If you or anyone else reading this has anything to say that is not the love you say is so great here, please just keep it to yourself. But if you can't, I won't reject you. And you don't have to worry, if there is no response, I won't visit here again.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I've never met you. I've never seen you with my own eyes, only know you through the knowledge of others.
Second, love doesn't mean continuing in relationships where one is continually hurt. After realizing just how much your constant negativity and criticisms were affecting my life, my family, my church family, my friends, my spiritual life, and my overall well-being, I chose to no longer keep contact with you.
Realize this, Chris, that there wasn't a single thing you said to me that wasn't a criticism of me, the people I care about, or my faith.
That is why I stopped responding to your messages, and I, respectfully, ask that you no longer keep contact with me or my family.
Regards,
Emily.
This will be the last time I ever write to you-
ReplyDeleteDo you realize there isn't a single thing you have said above other than false 'Regards' that wasn't a criticism of me? More irony.
First, you sought me out as a friend on FB. I never sought you out. If you didn't know me or see anything you wanted in a friend, why did you? I'm truly sorry I didn't say more that was encouraging. I did make a some normal comments & the others were not meant to be critical, unless you consider any disagreement criticism.
If by declaring the truth of the Bible too forcefully, I have wounded your weak conscience & so wounded Christ, I apologize profusely, not for the truth of His Word, but for my poor ability to write out an explanation of it. As I didn't know you, your limitations of interaction & discussion were not known to me. I had no idea of the necessity of packaging everything agreeably; as I believe knowledge comes from disagreement, not from constant approbation. Pro 27:6 You can trust a friend even if their correction wounds you, but kisses from an enemy are nothing but lies. You both chose to interpret everything I said in as negative of light as possible. She wrote with a warning to write differently, & you deleted me before I could make any response or do so.
Second, if love doesn't mean continuing in relationships where one is continually hurt, why would God continue with believers who still sin against him? Do you think He rejoices in it? Not only in the verses I quoted above which are clear to anyone who reads them witout bias that God says you must love exactly as He does, but also in Luke 17:1-2 where he said, "If your brother tresspasses against you, rebuke him. [She did.] And if he repents, forgive him. [Though I did not sin, I did this.] And if he turn to you 7 times in a day saying, I repent, you shall forgive him." It is not possible to obey what Jesus said if after 1-6 times of actually rebuking them in one day, you are free to avoid all further contact with them so they can't hurt you again. It seems God expects one to forgive over & over just as He does & I could not reply to the first rebuke before being shut off.
John 7:51 "Does our law enable us to judge a person without first hearing that person’s side of the story? We can’t judge a person without finding out what that person has done & why.”
There is a sham of a church, not Christ's true one, which talks about people behind their back, writes false accusations, & never gives anyone a chance to respond before rejecting them & one day this false church will answer for it & I pray that neither you nor any of the people you care about are among it in that day.
I am definitely the very least of these & what you do to me, you have done to Him & those who expect God to love them unconditionally while rejecting others who owe them debts, will find themselves delivered to the tormentors until all their debts are paid (Matt. 25:40, 18:32-35). I forgive you for your harsh judgment of me, that you have no intention of repenting of.
If, like the blog you love so much, there were an unrepentant homosexual in his underwear, flaunting his sexuality on a parade float, you would feel the need to show him love & acceptance; and when one is rudely posting on your FB that the Bible is bunk & not to believe it, you consider them friends whose negativity is harmless, but alas, I am one who believes in God's Word above the opinions of man & THAT alone, cannot be tolerated.
I was also burdened by all your posts which replaced God's simple truths with your own opinion, a conglomeration of post modernist thought plaguing my view every day. So even though I wished to make things right, you have done me a favor. The biblical God is who He is, not who we make Him & though you can silence me, we will be silent before His judgment seat when we shall meet face to face & He shall judge between us.
Till then.
As to the truth of the doctrine of the things I wrote to you, I leave Martin Luther's address at the Council of Worms-
ReplyDeleteYet, as I am a mere man, and not God, I will defend myself after the example of Jesus Christ, who said: “If I have spoken evil, bear witness against me” (John xviii:23). How much more should I, who am but dust and ashes, and so prone to error, desire that every one should bring forward what he can against my doctrine.
Therefore, most serene emperor, and you illustrious princes, and all, whether high or low, who hear me, I implore you by the mercies of God to prove to me by the writings of the prophets and apostles that I am in error. As soon as I shall be convinced, I will instantly retract all my errors, and will myself be the first to seize my writings, and commit them to the flames.
What I have just said I think will clearly show that I have well considered and weighed the dangers to which I am exposing myself; but far from being dismayed by them, I rejoice exceedingly to see the Gospel this day, as of old, a cause of disturbance and disagreement. It is the character and destiny of God’s word. “I came not to send peace unto the earth, but a sword,” said Jesus Christ. God is wonderful and awful in His counsels. Let us have a care, lest in our endeavors to arrest discords, we be bound to fight against the holy word of God and bring down upon our heads a frightful deluge of inextricable dangers, present disaster, and everlasting desolations.
Since your most serene majesty and your high mightinesses require of me a simple, clear and direct answer, I will give one, and it is this: If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it can not be right for a Christian to speak against his conscience. I stand here and can say no more. God help me. Amen.
Dear Chris, I know Emily since she was itty bitty and have to say that you are way off base here. The knowledge of our sin brings us to the cross. If we were able to follow the LAW perfectly and the commandments perfectly, then why would we even need a savior. If I know Emily, and I do, she has already prayed for you, for God to soften your heart. Also, it seems you have alot to speak about, so may I suggest...if you have not already done so..that you create your own blog. It seems you are quoting scripture all over the place to slam Emily (at least that is what I read as I read your comments). Did you ever read the scripture that says in I THes 5:11, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing". I also have prayed for you and I hope the Lord richly blesses you and shows up in a mighty way!
ReplyDeleteGod bless you!
Dude, you really need to back off and leave Emily alone. I grew up around hyper-judgmental people, so it's something I've dealt with all my life, but you are by far the most hateful, judgmental person I've ever interacted with, and what makes it worse is that it's all cloaked in "the will of God." Or, more appropriately, the will of God as it serves you.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I'm sorry if you don't want this sort of thing hashed out on your blog, and you can delete my comment if you would like, but I couldn't just sit by and let someone slam my husband and bash you like that and not say anything...
Chris... it's people like you who take Holy Word to such an extreme as to blow up buildings.... the Word is meant to teach lessons, but no one person can know if their interpretation is any more right than any others. Stop being stubborn and grow. You're not a prophet. You're a man, and you need to stop passing the judgment that only God can bestow. Grow up. You make mistakes in your beliefs just as anyone can. Be thankful that we have a God that forgives us. Always remember that Jesus surrounded himself with sinners. Remember that the Bible is written by man... inspired by a most Holy God but cannonized by our flawed christian forefathers nonetheless... keep an open mind so that you can learn and God can further reach you to develop your walk.... thats all I have time for yet... another time.
ReplyDelete