Grace
means you don't have to have it all together to be loved, accepted,
included and safe in His family circle..you can fail mightily, and still
be IN..you can even struggle, rant and rave, doubt and get confused,
and He will still hold onto you..you can get distracted, lose hope, get
stuck in addictions, and still have blessings come pouring over your
life..you can be at the lowest point you can
go and be as 'far' from Him as you could imagine, and find Him right
there beside you, hugging you, loving you, understanding you, helping
you..because grace is love that is FREE, given with no strings attached,
therefore everyone - no matter what their lives may look like, no
matter what their track record may be - 'qualifies' for grace because
you don't have to be 'qualified' to receive it! It just comes freely,
with no stipulations, no requirements, no obligations..what wonderful
grace!
Even
after our very worst sin, when we've sunk lower than we ever thought
possible, even then, ESPECIALLY then, He is telling us: NOTHING has
changed in our relationship! We are just as close as ever, and I am
just as committed to you - and to us - as ever! Our sins and failures
don't sway God's opinion, resolve, commitment or stance toward us - how
can they, when Christ already took them AWAY and God has promised NEVER to remember them!?!
His forever stance toward us, no matter what, is the stance of the
Perfect Father, the stance of the Perfect Husband, the stance of the
Perfect Friend! Through Jesus He showed us just how strong and
committed He is to us, sending His Son to die for us at our very WORST
moment, so lost in sin! He came down, tied Himself to us, reaching down
and picking us up from the gutter, and pulled us up to the heavenly
places where He reigns! If He went through all that to get us back when
we were at our WORST, do you think He is ever going to give up on us
now that He has transformed us into His BEST, into a complete and
beautiful Bride for His Son? No way! His love, His loyalty to be there
for us, in relationship with us, is here to stay, and nothing we do
could change that! For Love never gives up on you, no matter what..
It is as if God were saying through Jesus: "I will NEVER leave you or
forsake you! You can't change that! You can't change My love for you,
My faithful commitment to you! You can't drive me away with your
inconsistencies - they don't even EXIST in My mind! I have committed
Myself to stick with you forever, to love you forevermore!"
We just can't get away from this Wonderful Love, this Wonderful Lover, that will not ever let us go!
Grace
- the unconditional love and acceptance of God that pours over you at
all times and that has given you everything through Christ, without you
having to do a thing! Before we could do a thing, He loved us...He
loved us as we were, in the midst of our sinfulness, and He plucked us
out of our sinfulness into His marvelous light through Jesus' finished
work! Oh, what wonderful grace!
