It is true that God loves us just the way we are…but it is also true that He loves us way too much to leave us in any pitiful state.
“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Ps 139:16 NIV
God cannot love you more than He does right at this moment. His Love is not based on our performance; it is based on the fact that He created us. Think about a parent with a newly born child. That child is fully loved before he even does anything worth loving, right? And all because his parents helped create him. It is when we receive His Love and choose to attempt to return some of this love back to God, that He begins to reshape us into who He originally wanted us to be. Again, that does not cause God to love us more, but it does help us love Him more!
Let me read the last part of this verse again, slowly: “…all the days… ordained for me… were written in your book… before one of them came to be.” Are you getting it? God always knew we would fall into sin. He already knew each individual’s sins and successes, failures and fantastic moments. He already knew them all, and has made provision for each of them. This certainly does not mean any sin is ok, but it does mean God is not taken by surprise, by any of them. Take some time today to truly, and humbly thank God for knowing the depths of our hearts- the good, the bad and the ugly- and loving us anyway!
Join me in memorizing 52 verses this year:
January: 1- Jn 3:16; 2- 2Co 5:17; 3- Jas 2:26; 4- Eph 2:10
February: 5- Jn 10:10; 6- Ro 6:23; 7- Rev 21:4; 8- Php 4:13
March: 9- 1Pe 5:7; 10- Jn 8:32; 11- Dt 30:19; 12- Jn 3:30; 13- 2Chron 20:3
April: 14- 2Chron 20:12; 15- 2Chron 20:15b; 16- 2Chron 20:17
May: 17- Ro 8:28; 18- 1Co 13:13; 19- Php 2:12; 20- Mt 5:4
June: 21- Lk 23:42; 22- Jas 4:7; 23- Pr 22:6; 24- Mt 5:3; 25- Jn 14:6
July: 26- Jas 2:19; 27- Dt 31:8; 28- Jn 14:15; 29- Jn 8:11
August: 30- Ro 8:1; 31- Pr 4:23; 32- Pr 18:21; 33- Ps 118:24; 34- 1Jn 4:4
September: 35- Mt 16:24; 36- Isa 53:6; 37- Ps 23:1-6
October: 38- Heb 4:12; 39- Jn 15:5
40- Jas 5:16
41- 1Jn 3:1
42- 1Jn 5:12
43- 1Jn 3:3
44- Ps 139:16
<>< Peace, Diane
