Changed360

If you’re reading this know that God loves you. Plain and simple, no if, ands, or buts God loves you. Romans 5:8 tells us “But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Personally this is something I have a difficult time wrapping my head around, that God — Holy, perfect, creator of the universe loves me. But I know that it is true the Bible tells us, God loves us. Sometimes I find it difficult to imagine, maybe because the constraints of my flesh and sinful nature don’t allow me to envision a truly unconditional, selfless, pure love. If you read a few verses before Romans 5:8 you even more clearly see God’s love for us. Romans 5:5-7 says “now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.” In our sinful nature it is difficult to imagine loosing our life for anyone, maybe a “good” person or someone we really love. Most of us wouldn’t die for someone who we don’t label as “deserving” — someone who’s offended us or annoyed us, maybe someone who wronged us, or simply just someone we don’t know. It’s difficult in our sinful nature to understand Christ’s unconditional love and compassion. I think this makes it harder for some of us to understand God’s love for us. You probably tend to view God more through one these lenses; love, love, love or wrath, wrath, wrath. Each of us have different experiences that will shape our view of God and the tendency we lean towards. It’s good to be aware of which way we lean so we can ask God to help us view him through the lens of his word which is neither love or wrath but rather love and wrath. God is love and God loves you but as Paul teaches in Romans 6:1 We should not use God’s grace as an excuse to sin. Rather we grow in the grace he has given us. However, the love he has for us does not come from our righteousness, no friend you cannot earn God’s love. God loves you right now, right where you are at. Christ died for us while we were unrighteous, ungodly, sinners. God loves you. If you’re reading this and you’re far from God — He loves you, if you’re reading this and your chasing hard after God — He loves you, if you’re reading this and you feel worthless — He loves you, if you’re reading this and fill in the blank (__________________) — He loves you. Friend come to him and allow Him to transform you by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2) You can never earn God’s love but his love will transform you, that’s why change occurs in the life of a Christ follower. God really loves us, so much that he sent his perfect sinless Son to die as a sacrifice for our sins. If you know Him as Lord and savior rest in the fact that God loves you! If you don’t know him as Lord and Savior know that he loves you and he desires a relationship with you! Wherever you find yourself this is true — God loves you!

– Faith