What It Takes to be Fully Engaged: Part 2
We Resist Embracing God’s Love for Us
It is not possible to do a good job of keeping the Greatest Commandment, however, if we don’t embrace God’s deep love for you and me. First John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.” When God’s deep love for us results in loving ourselves and others well, then reciprocating God’s love back to Him in heartfelt gratitude comes easily.
Sadly, many think God does not look on them with love, favor and delight. In their heart of hearts, they actually feel God is angry at them or, at best, distant and uncaring. This is the great disconnect that the Father wants to deal with in each one of us.
Have we forgotten the most basic fact of the Good News of Jesus Christ? The Gospel begins with the wonderful news that “God so loved the world.” Yes, God loves you and me, deeply. But in our heart of hearts, do we believe it?
In her book Breaking Free, Beth Moore tells the story of a group of women she was teaching about God’s love. She asked them to each look into the eyes of the person next to them and say, “God loves me so much.” Guess what happened all over the room? Beth Moore writes, “The women turned to one another and said, ‘God loves you so much.’”
What a perfect example of how we accept God’s love for others, but struggle to believe in His love for us. Yet the truth is, God loves you and me just as much as He loves others—equally, deeply, completely, constantly, and unfailingly.
Why do we believe otherwise? Why do we change the very words and heart of the Father? Listen to what He says in Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”
Loving Ourselves Is Anything But Selfish
When we come into agreement with who the Father says we are as His beloved children, we become better able to trust His heart and to love others in return. Loving what God loves is the key—and yes, He absolutely loves you and me.
One pastor told his church that even though he knew God loved him, that past week for the very first time he experienced a profound revelation of “Jesus loves me, this I know” deep within his heart. To say he was transformed by this experience doesn’t do it justice.In other words, if learning to embrace God’s deep love for me changes how I treat myself, and ultimately enables me to love you better, then the result definitely is not selfish.
Everything comes down to embracing God’s love for us and sharing that love with others.
So, as a result of experiencing God’s love for me in a much deeper way, it’s changed how I see/treat/respect myself—and others. Like the pastor mentioned above, I’ve become fully engaged. In the coming days, may that be your experience—an experience well worth sharing with others.
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David Sanford has been a pastor for more than twenty years and coaches leaders passionate about demonstrating the relevance of Jesus Christ in every major sphere of life. His book and Bible projects have been published by Zondervan, Tyndale, Thomas Nelson, Doubleday and Amazon.
