Seeing and Feeling Love

"And therefore the creature that seeth and feeleth the working of love by grace, hateth nought but sin."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)

Seeing and experiencing the grace of God, the unconditional love and acceptance of God, has a beautiful effect on us. When you find out that God is not judging or condemning you, you find that you don't feel judgmental or condemning towards other people. When you find out you are accepted, just as you are, with all your mistakes, you find yourself less irritated with others and more likely to accept them even if they aren't perfect, either. When you find a love that is permanent, that you can't lose no matter how badly you act, you find yourself extending love and kindness towards others who act rather badly. When you find that there is no measuring stick, no impossible standard you must live up to, that you are allowed to be real and honest and even fail and still be okay in God's eyes, it makes you feel more sympathetic to those who feel burdened by high standards they can't keep. When you find God is loving everyone equally and bringing everyone home, you start to see the all people as one big family of God, rather than dividing people into "us" versus "them." You find yourself loving the whole world, hating only one thing - unlove towards others. 

Law could never have such an effect within us, for Law only brings brings frustration and condemnation. But grace, the unconditional Love that asks for nothing in return and can't be offended, no matter what we do, that Love naturally brings out love in us. Love naturally brings out love because Love is the strongest thing there is, and Love never fails. It always wins out over every negative attitude. With grace, all you want to do is love, because all you are is loved with no possibility of being unloved.

"We love because He first loved us."

1 John 4:19 (NIV)

A Prayer: Your love and acceptance melt my anger and hatred and make me just want to love everybody!

Christ Did All

"And thus in the Servant was shewed the scathe (injury) and blindness of Adam's falling; and in the Servant was shewed the wisdom and goodness of God's Son. And in the Lord was shewed the ruth and pity of Adam's woe, and in the Lord was shewed the high nobility and the endless worship that Mankind is come to by the virtue of the Passion and death of His dearworthy Son. And therefore mightily He joyeth in his falling for the high raising and fulness of bliss that Mankind is come to, overpassing that we should have had if he had not fallen.—And thus to see this overpassing nobleness was mine understanding led into God in the same time that I saw the Servant fall."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)

In the Parable of the Lord and the Servant that God showed Julian, we see Adam in the Servant's falling, but then we never see the Servant Adam again. Instead, the focus shifts to Christ as the Servant who succeeds in rescuing Adam, bringing Adam to a place of nobility higher than if Adam had never fallen. So we see that humanity's part in this Story is simply to fall and get hurt. We don't have any part or work after that. Christ has the main role, the only role. Christ does all the work of saving and restoring and blessing and glorifying. We do nothing but fall down and need rescue. This salvation is all up to Christ, not us at all. That means this salvation is secure and perfect. If it were up to us in any way, there could be doubt over whether it was good enough or done well enough. But it is all up to Christ. Therefore, it is perfect, it is complete, it is well done! 

Christ has already saved us, delivered us, raised us up to the heights, brought us to high nobility, and brought us to fullness of bliss. It is finished! And this high nobleness that humanity was raised to by Christ was seen in God from the very moment Adam fell! For He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. When humanity fell, Christ already fell and retrieved Adam and did all that it took to bring Adam back and raise him higher than ever. Salvation has been ours, secure in Christ the dearworthy Son of God, from the foundation of the world. God has left nothing in doubt. We have never really been lost from Him. We have always been in His care. And we always will be!

[Christ] was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.

1 Peter 1:20 (KJV)

The Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

1 John 4:14 (GNT)

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work.

John 4:34 (AMP)

A Prayer: It is a relief to know that I don't have to work for my salvation. It is a relief to know that You did all the work to save me and "it is finished!"

Holy Assent

"We assent (agree with, consent) to God....truly setting our will to be with Him, with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our might. And then we hate and despise our evil stirrings and all that might be occasion of sin, spiritual and bodily....by virtue of Christ which is our Keeper, we assent (agree with, consent) never thereto, but we groan there-against..."

Julian of Norwich (Ch. 52)

Our God-given inner will is good, but we are not strong enough to live on this earth according to good intentions, to live as we know we ought to, as we truly want to deep down. We often fail to love, often get caught in negative emotions, often struggle with selfishness, often find ourselves judging instead of accepting others. But Christ preserves our holy intent inside us, that goodwill that agrees with and consents to God's way of love, that goodwill that doesn't agree with or consent to sin and hatred. Even if we don't always act right, think right or talk right, deep down we are choosing right every time and choosing against wrong every time. We are choosing to and intent on sticking with God and His way of love. We don't have to worry about that intent ever faltering, because it is the holy intent and goodwill of Christ Himself in us, as our intent, and thus it is never going to lapse or fade away! Christ is living in us, and Christ always chooses God in us, always chooses love in us. And even though we don't have the strength to carry out that inner intent of goodness, Christ has the strength in us and Christ will carry it out in us. So God has made us good deep down and this goodness is Christ Himself in us. You cannot get any more perfect goodness than that!

"I have the will to do good."

Romans 7:18 (PHILLIPS)

A Prayer: It is a relief to know that deep down, I only assent to God's will of love and never to sin.