June 6, 2016

God’s Love Frees Us

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. -- 1 John 4:16

The words were proudly honest. She didn’t know God loved her. She couldn’t grasp it. Her past wouldn’t let her. Satan’s lies blocked this truth.

I didn’t know what to say. It was a classroom setting and comments were everywhere. But her truth explained so much. All of a sudden her life made sense. I’d been there.

Self-destruction is a horrible thing. It’s roots run deep, planted in childhood for both of us. When you are told over and over again that you aren’t worthy, that you aren’t loved, that you aren’t smart or capable or good, then you believe it. Because that’s what children do. They believe the lies adults tell them.

God’s love releases that. It reveals those lies and tells us a different story. It’s not about us. It’s not about what has been or what will be. It’s about a God who loves us because He is love. We can’t quite grasp that deep, unwavering love.

But it is in the grasping that we are set free. When we fully realize and accept this wondrous gift, we have no need to destroy ourselves so that we turn into truth the lies the enemy told. We can stand in the light and know that wherever we are we are loved and cherished. We are enough.

This sweet woman has a history. Don’t we all. It’s isn’t an awful one but to her it is. She sees the effects on her now grown children. She realizes her struggles have led to choices and here she is. What now?

A person filled with God’s love makes different choices. A person filled with God’s love lets go of a past that cannot be changed and focuses on a now that is beautiful and filled with possibilities. A person filled with God’s love understands that the opinions of others really don’t matter because Jesus has washed them clean.

A sweet friend tells about one really bad decision she made years ago. It cost a great deal, not only for her but for her marriage and her child. She regrets that decision but it can never be undone.

She has forgiven herself and she knows God has too. It’s the people on the outside, those who have no business with an opinion at all, who even now throw it in her face. The lies of Satan can be relentless. God’s love has overcome them all.

God is love. It really is that simple. He is more than enough to fill us up, to make us believe that today and the days to come can be different. He tells us we are worthy, worthy enough that He sent His Son to die for us. Rest in that. Believe it. Walk in freedom. You are loved.