"God brought to my mind that I should sin....And to this our Lord answered: I keep thee full surely. This word was said with more love and secureness and spiritual keeping than I can or may tell."
Julian of Norwich (Ch. 37)
We don't have to be afraid. Our wonderful Father knows we are human. He knows we make mistakes, get confused and sometimes lose our way. He knows we will fail. But it doesn't matter. We don't have to worry that this failure will mean we've gone too far or gotten on God's last nerve. We don't have to wonder if we'll ever outsin His patience and be rejected or kicked out of the family. He has promised us that He keeps us securely. We don't have to keep ourselves - He is doing it, He is keeping us, He is upholding us, therefore we know we are safe. He is pure grace, and with grace, failure doesn't matter. We are upheld safely by the strength, love and assurance of Christ Himself. He has even given us His own righteousness and put us within His own relationship with the Father to protect our heart from any fear, so we would feel totally at ease and know that our behavior doesn't affect our place in the family. We can say, 'My behavior doesn't keep me close to God; Jesus keeps me close to God!' We can even see that He keeps our true identity intact within Himself, so even if we fail, we remain good at heart, pure in our depths, the very good children of God. We are kept in Him, so there is no risk of losing ourselves to sin or becoming evil. And He is keeping our relationship with Him intact, holding us in His arms in a love embrace, saying that there is no danger of being rejected, no possiblity of losing His love. Our place in the family is sure, no matter what we do, no matter how far we fall or how long we wander in sin. He wants us to relax, feel safe, and know that we are always kept secure. There is just no way to fall 'out' of this family. With God, family is forever!
"I, your God, have a firm grip on you and I’m not letting go."
Isaiah 41:13 (MSG)
A Prayer: Thank You for Your love that won't let go of me, no matter what!