Does He say, "I love you, but I'm so disappointed with you" - ?
Does He say, "I love you, but you need to do better" - ?
Does He say, "I love you, but you've irritated Me" - ?
Does He say, "I love you, but we need to work on this area" - ?
Does He say, "I love you, but I'm going to send bad circumstances on you because of that sin in order to teach you a lesson" - ?
Does He say, "I love you, but now we're out of fellowship" - ?
Does He say, "I love you, but you need to rededicate yourself to Me" - ?
Does He say, "I love you, but you need to confess, repent, show contrition in order to get My forgiveness - ?
Does He say, "I love you, but you're not "right" with Me and you need to do something to get "right" with Me again - ?
Does He say "I love you, but you need to do something to get back on My good side" - ?
Does He say, "I love you, but I won't answer your prayers because you've got sin in your life" - ?
OR -
Does He say, "What sin? The cross took away ALL your sins and as I have promised, "your sins and your iniquities I will remember NO MORE" - !
And also, "I love you, I love you, I love you, with no BUT's" - !
With God, there is no BUT! There is no "I love you, BUT"...It's just, "I love you."
It's not, "You're loved, but I'm disappointed in you."
It's not, "You're accepted, but you better shape up."
It's not, "You're in union, but you're out of fellowship."
It's not, "You're forgiven, but I'm sending punishment on you."
I have struggled with each of those ideas so many times. And yet, God keeps reminding me that those statements make NO SENSE in light of who He really is - LOVE! He is 100% pure love, perfect love, all the time, and ALL He says is from a heart of REAL LOVE. Would PERFECT LOVE say any of those things I listed above? Would UNCONDITIONAL LOVE say them? NO! God sees, loves and relates to us based not on our character or works, but based on His character of Perfect Love and based on His works that He did in Christ. Since the way He relates to us is based solely on Him and the finished work of Christ, nothing we are or nothing we do will change that! We're not in the loop at all! Therefore we are safe in this love!
Going back to my list at the top, I truly believe the following statements express His heart toward us:
"I love you, and you will NEVER be a disappointment to Me."
''I love you, no improvements necessary."
"I love you, and you never irritate or anger Me - I've sworn never to be angry with you or rebuke you."
"I love you, and I take you as you are without the requirement to change - you're not under law, but under grace."
"I love you, and I will never punish you for your sins - Christ took all punishment for them already."
"I love you, and I never send calamity on you because of your sin, I send only good and perfect gifts."
"I love you, and we'll never be out of fellowship, for you and I are ONE spirit!"
"I love you, and Christ has dedicated you to me (sanctified you) forever!"
"I love you, and all your sins, past, present and future are already forgiven through the cross - there's nothing you need to do to get that forgiveness, for it's already yours.
"I love you, and Christ has made you right with Me by His works and not your own, so your sins don't change that status."
"I love you, and no matter how many times you sin, you're always in My favor - for it's based on Christ's performance, not yours."
"I love you, and I will always answer your prayers, for I always hear the cries of the righteous and that's you, since I have given you MY righteousness!
There's not a single qualifier attached to God's love and acceptance of us, ever. God says, "I love you" with no strings attached! He says, "You're accepted, you're in union, you're forgiven, you're loved," and that's it! There is no "I love you, BUT.." I am so thankful that with God, there are NO mixed messages!
Love to all from
