It’s so easy to love people when they are easy to love. When they are at their best and giving of themselves, too.
it’s easy to love when you’re light hearted and the world is at ease.
it’s easy to love someone when they’ve been nothing but the best friend and you just want to give back to them.
but stopping there,
stopping there isn’t true love.
this is what is…
“but God showed His great love for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8
the word in that sentence that’s important?
you guessed it!
W H I L E.
it doesn’t say God showed His love after we were sinners and repented back to Him.
He loved WHILE we were sinners. In the midst of it and during it all.
Something about this theme of grace beyond measure and love during hurt has kept coming up to me the last 3 months in Guatemala.
This is the character of our God: He loves us while we are running. He loves us while we are denying. He loves us while we are ignoring Him.
These lyrics are ones from songs I love because of the God’s while-spirit they show.
“when i was your foe, still your love fought for me.”
-Reckless Love (Cory Asbury)
“i saw it all, still i chose the cross.”
-Out of Hiding (Steffany Gretzinger)
“you see me, you know me, you love me through and through.”
-Through and Through (Will Reagan, United Pursuit)
——
its easy to put Jesus’ story on the cross into a story of something that happened 2000 years ago and leave it there.
but it’s alive and here today,
because God is alive and here today.
In our humanity starting with good ole’ Adam & Eve we were deserving of death. we are people with pride big enough to think we don’t need God or that we can BE him. we ran.
God knew what we deserved, and in HIs perfect justice He took death for us, so that we could be made right with Him and have True life. He did this WHILE we were still sinning.
“..and since we have been made right in Gods sought by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.”
Romans 5:9
How good it is to have a friend that loves us even and while we aren’t wanting to listen to HIm, because He still wants to be with us 😮 😀
——
The Lord loved Peter while he was denying Jesus to His face not only once but 3 times.
The Lord loved me while I was hurting & yelling at Him for the position of life I was put in.
The Lord loved the adulterer while she was caught in her sin about to be stoned.
The Lord loved me while I lowered my standards & refused to mention His name for the sake of being accepted by a few people.
The Lord loved me while I was questioning Him and His love for me.
—
He is loving you, too. You don’t need to fix your wrongs or change what you did last week. He already saw it, took the punishment, and loves you. You’re free ! You don’t have to hide. You’re safe and worthy of the love not because of what you’ve done but because of what He’s done already! He loved you before you knew and while you’re here, and He’ll love you after, too.
—
I think it’s super easy for us to love for love and to serve to be served.
But that’s not the way.
God loves us because He loves us. God serves us because He wants to serve. He listens because He wants to listen.
in Luke 6:32-36, with the Message version it’s put pretty clearly what we’re supposed to do with this grace-giving kind of love.
“if you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? run-of-the-mill sinners do that. if you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that…love your enemies. give without expecting return. Live this God-created-identity out. Our father is kind; you be kind.”
imagine the power house this world would be if we truly lived out loving people while it was hard to love them. They don’t have to be your full-blown-enemies either, just those people that are hard for you to love. You know them.
Them?
Yeah, them.
When we accept that God’s loved us though it all, it becomes a joy to show those people the freedom that they aren’t stuck, either.
So…
if you are someone that’s finding yourself stuck in a “while”-situation with someone else, know that you can love even when it is really hard and you don’t necessarily feel love for them yet. It’s not a matter of we HAVE to love, but we GET to love. We get to see past the current scenario and ask God what He thinks of the situation and person.
if you are the one thats in the while yourself right now, know that you don’t have to keep running. you’re good because He’s called you good. He’s looking for you! you don’t have to do anything more, just go to Him.
<3
cami
Prayer (for you to enjoy):
God thank you so much that you’ve seen everything in me and still choose me. Thank you that you’re so great to see who you say I am despite anything I’ve done. Thank you that it doesn’t rely on my efforts or goodwill, but just your grace- what a relief that is. Thank you for giving me this overwhelming love that I can’t help but give it out. Give me eyes to see things and scenarios and people the way you do. I know that this world is short and there is so much more than what i can see. Help me see people the way you do despite any and all hurt I’ve ever felt. While you were on the cross you saw the people beating you and forgave them. Help me love like that more and more. amen !
