| DOES GOD ALWAYS LOVE US? |
| Copyright © 2004-2009 Dancing Bulls Advertising All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
| JoyUs Musing Edition #09-24 |
2009 - DOES GOD ALWAYS LOVE YOU?
I remember when I first began to realize that God wasn't waiting for me to make a mistake so He could
(figuratively) thump me on the head. I used to feel He had to be disappointed in me. The most
amazing revelation I ever had of God is that HE LOVES ME. UNCONDITIONALLY. He wasn't
expecting me to disappoint Him. God wasn't thinking, "That Nan, she ALWAYS messes up. She
NEVER gets that right. She keeps blowing it."
I remember reading a little booklet, whose author and title I don't remember but it was something like,
'You can be right and still be wrong." Let me illustrate:
When Josh was little - about 3 or 4 - I remember promising him a trip to the zoo on the weekend.
Later on during the week before the zoo trip, he disobeyed about something or didn't do something, I
don't remember what the infraction was, but I said to him, "Because you didn't do such-and-such,
we're not going to the zoo this weekend." Obviously he was upset about that and went to his room.
It wasn't very long that I heard God's voice VERY clearly - not audibly - but in my Spirit. He said to
promise to your son." I instantly remembered the booklet I read so went to Josh and said, "Son, I was
wrong to take away something I already promised you we'd do. No matter what, I gave you my word
we would go to the zoo and we will go to the zoo. We'll figure out something else to do about this
infraction."
You see, I was right in that I had a right to be upset because Josh didn't do something he was told to
do. But I gave my word and had promised him a trip to the zoo so I was wrong to break my promise to
him.
Most people were raised and raise their own children on that "performance-based approval" method.
Do right and good things come to you. Do wrong and good things are withheld from you. Those
good things can be anything from the loss of a trip to the zoo to our parents' good will. We actually
can feel that if we don't perform correctly, our parent' love is withheld from us because that's what it
feels like.
We carry that performance-based process over into our relationship with God. We believe if we don't
act "just right" and do things perfectly, God won't and couldn't possibly love us. We think He will be
disappointed in us but that's a human emotion and God is not human. The Bible calls it
"condemnation". We actually condemn ourselves because we fear we've disappointed God. Yet the
Bible says we are His delight. We are the apple of His eye. Nothing can separate us from His love.
God NEVER takes His love from us. N-e-v-e-r. It may seem like He does because we wander away
and get into trouble. Unconditional love is sometimes a hard concept to grasp because of that
performance-based method of love we know more about.
The most important thing we can do is to get an understanding of how MUCH God loves us - how vast
and all encompassing His love for us is. It is so powerful and so pure, and UNCONDITIONAL.
Do you realize that no matter what you've done or think you've done wrong that God's love is there to
catch you, to surround you, to protect you, and to encompass you? He will never break His Word to
you. He never withholds His love from you. HE LOVES YOU UNCONDITIONALLY.
Does God always love you? The answer is a resounding YES. Study out that word 'unconditional"
and start to get an understanding how much God loves you!
Musing Copyright © 2009 Nan C Loyd
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
I remember when I first began to realize that God wasn't waiting for me to make a mistake so He could
(figuratively) thump me on the head. I used to feel He had to be disappointed in me. The most
amazing revelation I ever had of God is that HE LOVES ME. UNCONDITIONALLY. He wasn't
expecting me to disappoint Him. God wasn't thinking, "That Nan, she ALWAYS messes up. She
NEVER gets that right. She keeps blowing it."
I remember reading a little booklet, whose author and title I don't remember but it was something like,
'You can be right and still be wrong." Let me illustrate:
When Josh was little - about 3 or 4 - I remember promising him a trip to the zoo on the weekend.
Later on during the week before the zoo trip, he disobeyed about something or didn't do something, I
don't remember what the infraction was, but I said to him, "Because you didn't do such-and-such,
we're not going to the zoo this weekend." Obviously he was upset about that and went to his room.
It wasn't very long that I heard God's voice VERY clearly - not audibly - but in my Spirit. He said to
promise to your son." I instantly remembered the booklet I read so went to Josh and said, "Son, I was
wrong to take away something I already promised you we'd do. No matter what, I gave you my word
we would go to the zoo and we will go to the zoo. We'll figure out something else to do about this
infraction."
You see, I was right in that I had a right to be upset because Josh didn't do something he was told to
do. But I gave my word and had promised him a trip to the zoo so I was wrong to break my promise to
him.
Most people were raised and raise their own children on that "performance-based approval" method.
Do right and good things come to you. Do wrong and good things are withheld from you. Those
good things can be anything from the loss of a trip to the zoo to our parents' good will. We actually
can feel that if we don't perform correctly, our parent' love is withheld from us because that's what it
feels like.
We carry that performance-based process over into our relationship with God. We believe if we don't
act "just right" and do things perfectly, God won't and couldn't possibly love us. We think He will be
disappointed in us but that's a human emotion and God is not human. The Bible calls it
"condemnation". We actually condemn ourselves because we fear we've disappointed God. Yet the
Bible says we are His delight. We are the apple of His eye. Nothing can separate us from His love.
God NEVER takes His love from us. N-e-v-e-r. It may seem like He does because we wander away
and get into trouble. Unconditional love is sometimes a hard concept to grasp because of that
performance-based method of love we know more about.
The most important thing we can do is to get an understanding of how MUCH God loves us - how vast
and all encompassing His love for us is. It is so powerful and so pure, and UNCONDITIONAL.
Do you realize that no matter what you've done or think you've done wrong that God's love is there to
catch you, to surround you, to protect you, and to encompass you? He will never break His Word to
you. He never withholds His love from you. HE LOVES YOU UNCONDITIONALLY.
Does God always love you? The answer is a resounding YES. Study out that word 'unconditional"
and start to get an understanding how much God loves you!
Musing Copyright © 2009 Nan C Loyd
All rights reserved. Used by permission.