The Great Love of God

I wanted to share some thoughts with you that have so moved me I cannot help but exclaim them to you! I love you all...

I met with Dr. Zuber, one of my Moody professors, today for breakfast and initially I did not want to get up and go at 7 in the morning. But, I did and I am really glad that I did. Because today we talked about God's love and how in the Bible there is a very real sense that God loves some people more than he loves others. Consider your life compared to the homeless drug addict you find on the street. Some would say he or she deserves that life, right? However, I realized while we were talking today that God must love me a lot more than I often am willing to give him credit for. It is because of God's love that I am not living as one of the worst of sinners. Truthfully, it is because of God's love that I am not a drug-addicted prostitute myself. If I was left to my own desires and devices that is most likely where I would be; if I am being really honest. Sure, I would often like to think that I have played a role in my successes. I would like to believe that there is something morally excellent and praiseworthy within me that has kept me from such horrible things, but, if I am being honest I know that that is pridefully untrue. This something inside of me that likes to believe that my life is because I have "chosen correctly" and in some sense earned God's love. I like this because it sheds me in a really good light and makes me feel good about myself, and often time more importantly it makes me feel like I am better than other people. But, I did not even chose my family of origin or place of birth. Wow! the great love of God that is forever providing for a sinner like me. Always extending the invitation into intimacy and sweet surrender. His love goes ever before me...

I want to know and experience more of God's love! This whole idea moves me away from my pride and into a deep place of humility and unworthiness. The Great King of both heaven and earth has chosen to love me in such a way, that even though I deserve death and hell because if my sins in both thought and action, God would instead give me: health, food to eat, nice clothing to wear, money to survive on, a family that loves me, parents that sacrifice for me, friendships that challenge, edify and encourage me, an education, a safe place to live, a man who loves me and wants to spend his life with me, salvation, forgiveness, hope, peace, restoration -- all because of his great love! I couldn't possibly have chosen this for myself. Wow!

Jesus Christ will forever worthy of all my life and all my adoration because my God has given me grace upon grace, and the only question I have now is... Who am I?

Philippines 3: 1-9

verse 1 -

Delight yourself in the Lord and continue to rejoice that you are in Him (found to be his chosen and elect child).

verse 3 -

For we Christians are truly saved, we worship God in spirit and by the Spirit of God and exult and glory and pride ourselves in Jesus Christ alone(The Christian life is not dependent on what I do and my actions but in who I worship and place high in my life), and we put no confidence in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external experiences.(There is no gain or reward in these things, because they have been given by God's grace alone, we have not earned them.)

verse 4 -

Though for myself I had grounds to rely on my flesh...(i.e. my personal successes, social and physical advantages and achievements)

verses 5-7 -

Baptized when I was 7 years old, from the wealth of the Caucasian race, born in the United States of America, a church-goer and a daughter of church-goers, as to the observance of the law I was a legalist. As for my zeal, I was a willful hypocrite within the church and by the peoples and laws standards of righteousness I was considered the best of Christians. But whatever former things I had that might have been gain (i.e. areas of pride) for me, I have considered them all loss for Christ's sake.

verse 8 -

Yes, furthermore I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him (my position to Christ). For his sake I desire the loss of everything (that I have pridefully considered my earned and deserved gain) and consider it all to be mere rubbish, in order that I might gain Christ, the goal.

My prayer: verse 9 -

That I might actually be found and known as in Christ not having any self-achieved righteousness that can be called my own, based on my perceived obedience to the rules and legalistic demands (a ritualistic uprightness and a supposed right standing with God that I believe I have earned), but instead possessing that genuine righteousness which comes through faith and utter dependance on Jesus Christ, which is the true right standing with God, which comes from God, by saving faith, as a gift.

Glory to God for the great thing that he has done!