Knowing His Love

You loved us at our lowest level of sanctification. How much more do You love us now, even in our failure, our weakness, and the sometimes coldness of our heart, because down deep beneath all these things is a heart You made new, made fresh; a heart that truly does beat for You, even though it might not always look like it.

You are pleased, O Lord, for You created the beauty within and the beauty that with each day becomes more evident, for we are changed from glory to glory. Yes, we sin. Yes, we are a mess on the outside. Yes, we need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s convicting power. But God works in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure. He puts His Spirit within us, and causes us to walk in His ways.

I would like to put an end to the lie once and for all that somehow our Father is displeased with us, frustrated by our weakness, harsh towards us because we “fail so miserably”. I do not believe that lie anymore. Can I tell you, being able to receive His mercy and love has only fueled a passion for more holiness, not an attitude of “let me off the hook” so I could sin more.

Condemnation and guilt will never draw you to Him, never give you true desire to change. But, being able to receive His love and mercy humbles you and makes you long to obey Him more. There is no more striving or work, in the negative sense, to please Him because you know He already is pleased.

For me, this ever increasing revelation of His love, acceptance, and pleasure toward me is literally life altering. My heart is becoming more and more free to soar with Him. The burdens of guilt, shame, and condemnation are being stripped off. I see myself becoming all I ever wanted to be, but could never “make” myself be.

It blows this little long-time, legalistic, black and white mind to think that the more I receive His love, the more I behold Him in His beauty and glory, the more I just love Him and bask in His love, the more I change. (I’m not at all denying our role in the process of sanctification, trust me, the ‘doing’ is my strong suit here – just expressing the other side of the coin)

Father God, make our hearts wholly free from guilt, shame, and condemnation. Make us able to comprehend what is the breadth and the width and the depth and the height of Your love, and to really and truly know the love of Christ that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. In Jesus precious name!

As I was looking up Ephesians 3:19, I was astounded at what I saw.

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

The more we know the love of Christ, the more we are filled with the fullness of God!!