God always loves us, that should NEVER be the question! But just because He unconditionally loves us, doesn’t mean He loves everything we choose to do! There is a huge difference between who we are, our identity in Christ that will never change, and the things we DO! What we do must continually change so that we act more and more like Perfect Jesus. When my son would mess up, I used to tell him, “I will always love you, but I do not like what you have done, and so I must punish you, so you won’t repeat it or do worse, hurting yourself and those around you.” This is what many people do not understand about God. Yes He loves us, but He loves us way too much to leave us in our pathetic, selfish state.
Pride, selfishness, an unforgiving heart…none of these things are for our benefit, or anyone else’s for that matter! God wants to transform us so that we can have more peace in our lives, regardless of the latest challenges we may face. We can only do this as we remain in His Love and allow Him to change us from the inside out. This means holding on to our identity, this means capturing every thought and lining in up with His Word…then everything else will automatically fall into place. Again this is the process we call Sanctification, but even when we just start to mature in Christ, the amount of peace and joy we experience is so worth the while!
<>< Peace, Diane
