Agape: It's Unconditional Love

Are you a Pharisee? Do you ever find yourself in the company of Pharisees? Usually well meaning believers (and sometimes even unbelievers) that believe that in order for God to love us and them, we must believe AND be perfectly good- obeying all His commands and commandments? People that believe that if we sin or slip up, that He won't love us anymore? Let me be perfectly clear: That is a lie from the pit of hell! And don't you believe it for one second! God's love is unconditional. Let me repeat that: UNCONDITIONAL. He loves the saint, the sinner, the believer and the unbeliever all the same! There is NOTHING you or I can do to make Him love us more or less. He even loved Judas- the one He knew would betray Him. He even loves me-- the one He knew would turn from Him time and again. He even loves you--no matter what you've done or will do.

God's love means that He WILL discipline us though. True love requires this. God will use discipline to call us to Himself. He will use discipline to guide us back into His will when we go astray. God will use discipline, ultimately, in letting one pay the consequences of rejecting His love.  Unconditional love means letting us choose whether or not we will love Him in return. It also means receiving the blessings of belief in Him.Everyone knows John 3:16 but there's more to be found in John 3:18... just two verses later.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life....Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God" (emphasis mine)

God is not human and His ways are not our ways. In fact, He is so different from the natural human that His Word says He is beyond understanding. His love is not like ours. We can only hope to try to love as He loves. We can only come close when He is Lord of our lives. Now that we know there's nothing we can do to earn His love, why then should we even bother trying to be holy? Why does it even matter if we sin? Why should we care? We should care because our love for Him should be reflected in how we act, what we say, how we think and in how others see us. We are to be the earthly representation of God to those around us. If you love God, you will WANT to please Him. You will NOT be perfect at it. In fact, sometimes you may not even be good at it. The more you look to God, the more you ask Him for wisdom and to reveal His plan for your life, the more you WILL please Him. We need to make an effort towards godliness.

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.8 For if these qualitiest are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-9 (emphasis mine)

When the Pharisees asked Jesus what the most important commandment was, do you remember what He said? Mark 12:30-31 records it this way:

 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

Loving your neighbor as yourself means loving them no matter where they are on the spectrum of belief. Love them no matter what. No condition. Knowing that there is no condition to God's love for you. God will discipline those HE sees fit to discipline. God will call those that He will call. God will be Lord to those He will be Lord to. As believers, we are commanded to love. That is how we will show we love the Lord.

Guilty As Charged

I have made some colossally BAD choices in my life. And by colossal I mean HUGE, GIGANTIC, MOUNTAIN- SIZED, BAD choices. Choices that not only effected myself, but those around me as well. Choices that hurt and had the potential to hurt. I have, mercifully, been spared the consequences for most of my bad choices. But, there are others that effect me even today. Some of them years after the fact. That is the price of sin. Effects that are long lasting even to the 3rd and 4th generation.

Most of the time, I am at peace knowing that I have been forgiven by the only One who has the power to forgive and redeem even me. But there are other times, when I am in the midst of "paying the consequences" that I am reminded of the cause. And I begin to accuse myself, to let the accuser accuse me, and to live in guilt. I let myself forget that guilt is NOT a burden the Lord wants me to bear. He has taken all my guilt upon Himself. Yes, there are still prices to pay for my disobedience, for my unbelief, and for my faithlessness, but continued guilt is NOT one of them.

There are many stories in the Bible about people that made bad choices. Some of them even colossally bad. :) Because I'm a woman, I tend to relate more to the stories about women. There is a story in John, of a woman that made the really bad choice of committing adultery. She was brought before Jesus, accused and condemned by those around her (and I'm sure by the devil as well.) The Pharisees expected Jesus to condemn her also. It was the law after all. However, Jesus does something else. He tells those that accused her to look at themselves, and judge whether or not they were without sin. But the thing that REALLY touches me is after they have all gone away.

When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." John 8:10-11 NKJV

You see, though the Lord CAN judge and condemn, and has EVERY RIGHT to, when we ask for forgiveness and are truly repentant, Jesus covers our sin, takes our guilt upon Himself and says "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." It doesn't matter what the sin was. Once we are forgiven, that's it. It's done. Yes, there may still be consequences. That is the price of living in a fallen world. But you are no longer "guilty" to Him. You are now sinless because the blood of Christ covers you. God sees us as He sees His Son. Do not allow heaviness of guilt and regrets wear you down and effect your joy. Go in peace and joy and "sin no more." God is not a god of accusations. And He WILL cast down the one that would accuse you. His Word says so in Revelation 12:10

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

Your job now is to BELIEVE that what His Word says is true, and that you are no longer condemned and accused before God. When you sin (and you will. As will I.) ask for forgiveness, repent and don't do it again. None of us is fully perfected yet. But we will be, if Jesus is our Lord and Savior.*

*Disclaimer: I realize there are some that may think I am saying that we can decide to sin and then just ask for forgiveness and all will be well. But let me be clear: the forgiveness of God does not mean we can go about willfully sinning, thinking that we can do whatever we want, and we will be forgiven. If you have any question about that see Hebrews 10:26.