“Rest in the glorious fact that we are loved”

I know that I have referred in the past to the blog “Of First Importance” in which a quote is presented that points toward the gospel and Jesus.  Today’s post was such a great reminder:

“If we are to change we must be regularly preaching the gospel to ourselves and believing it. We must be continually showing ourselves, and those we counsel, the depths and greatness of God’s love for them. We must stop wasting our time trying to convince ourselves that we are lovable, and instead rest in the glorious fact that we are loved. It is this message which God uses to change us at the motivational level.”

. . .we must stop wasting our time trying to convince ourselves that we are lovable, and instead rest in the glorious fact that we are loved. . .

Talk about a stop-dead-in-my-tracks statement.  The fact is, I’m not loveable a lot of the time.  Jesus didn’t save me because I was such a “great catch.”  That’s a self-centered mindset.  My salvation, our salvation, has everything to do with God and His covenant love.

1 John 4:9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. (NLT)

And Jesus was not just any sacrifice — He was the atoning sacrifice, the only sacrifice that was sufficient to satisfy the just wrath of God on my sin.  Because of Jesus, my sin isn’t just tossed in the corner — it is totally removed.

Then the apostle John continues. . .

1 John 4:11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. (NLT)

The resulting action of God’s infinite, unconditional, sacrificial love, is not to be enamored with myself, not to concentrate on how “loved” I feel, but I am to concentrate on giving love to others.

Our culture is so self-centered, we don’t even realize how much it has permeated our thinking.  God continually says in His Word that our concentration should be on God, and not on ourselves.  Know what God thinks about me; know how God loves me.  Believe what He says.  Then, give that kind of love to others.  Don’t concentrate on what others can do for me, so that I feel special.  I am the most precious jewel to God; I am His treasure; I am His beloved child.  No mere mortal can top that kind of love. 

Let’s stop wasting precious time.  I want to concentrate on Believing God.  Then I can serve and love others without the petty score-keeping or feeling used or any of that other “junk” that so clutters life and makes it miserable.

Will you choose to belive God with me?