Champion of Love
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Rom. 5:8
If you meet these goals at work, you will get a raise. If you do your chores at home, you will get an allowance. If you work hard at practice, you will have a better chance of playing in the game. If I don’t break the speed limit, I won’t get a ticket. If the church meets my expectations I will attend.
Such is the way we live most of life. A system of behaviors followed by the requisite rewards or punishments. If my spouse makes me happy, I will stay married. If you meet me halfway, I’ll meet you halfway. And so forth.
Yet in the verse above we find an astounding, almost unbelievable, statement about the love of God that shatters our human patterns. It rests beyond the realm of our comprehension. Yet it is a truth that literally changes lives, including yours if you let it. It looks something like this:
If you ignore me, I will still pay attention to you. If you lie to me, I will listen to your prayers anyway. If you have a pattern of being unfaithful to others, I will never be unfaithful to you. If you have doubted my love for you, I will love you anyway. If you harbor bitterness toward me, I will extend you continual mercies. If you think the sin you are committing is secret, I see it in full view and will forgive you anyway. If you don’t feel like you quite measure up to expectations, I measure up on your behalf.
God says, that in full view of all the shortcomings of your past, your present-day struggles, and even your future failures, I choose to love you and give my life for you regardless. He says my love for you is not dependent on you, but completely dependent on me. I love you and cannot not love you! It is a love that triumphs over everything.
The love of God is truly like nothing else. We don’t deserve it, cannot work hard enough to earn it, or behave well enough to merit it. And the fact is we don’t have to, because He has already decided to love us. He went so far as to offer his one and only son, Jesus, as the sacrifice for all our sins and shortcomings. All that remains is for us to accept his sacrifice personally. Notice what I said there. Accept it, not understand it. Our understanding of God does not change the facts about God. His love is real. It will transform your life like nothing else ever will. You can’t outrun it or do anything to make him feel otherwise about you.
Have you gotten to know the Champion of Love personally? If not, why not today?
Questions to ponder:
1. Have I let trying to make sense of God’s love keep me from accepting His love?
2. How would being set free from trying to perform for God’s acceptance free you?
Live on purpose,
Ron Klopfenstein
