Romans 5:8 / ESV
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
I am so thankful for the love God has for me and how He has displayed that love to me time and again throughout my life. He accepts me no matter what, and as much as I would like to consider myself a good person, there are things about me that haven’t always been good. I accepted Christ at a young age, but as life went on and I grew up and began to experience the difficulties life can bring, I have to admit, there were times I chose not to fellowship with Him. I always loved Him, and I thought I knew that He loved me, but I don’t think I was necessarily convinced His love was unconditional. I was fortunate to have grown up in a Christian home, but some of the things I understood – whether taught to me or interpreted by me - weren’t necessarily founded in scripture. If I fell short of perfection, my salvation was lost and I had to start all over again. This is when my fellowship with Him would suffer. Since perfection was the measuring stick and I couldn’t measure up to that, I had a hard time understanding why God would even want to have fellowship with me because I was unworthy of it.
I have since come to understand that perfection isn’t what God is looking for, but a spirit that is teachable and a heart that is willing to change. He loves me despite my shortcomings and failures. His love sees all of it and loves me still. Romans 5:8 says, ‘But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ He sent His son to redeem us because He knew we needed redeeming. He recognized we were incapable of obtaining perfection, so He sent the perfect Lamb on our behalf. God’s love isn’t blind to who we are. His love is so perceptive that it saw us in our worst state and provided an answer in advance.
I don’t know any other kind of love that would do that. What kind of love sees every wrong and ugly thing about us and decides we are still worth dying for? Relationships fail every day because we can’t accept others for who they are or what they may have done and yet, God knew us from beginning to end and still remained committed. It’s that kind of love that makes me want to do better and be better. It’s His unconditional love that causes me to extend love and forgiveness to others. It’s His acceptance of me in my ugliest moments that makes me more accepting of others in theirs. Love sees and love stays.
For anyone who may feel they’ve really messed up or wandered off too far, may you be reminded that “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end” (Lamentations 3:22). There are no conditions, no exceptions and no exclusions. For those who are seeking unconditional love and acceptance, may you find salvation through our Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave His life that we may be redeemed from sin and experience forgiveness and life eternal.
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Scriptures
Romans 8:38-39 /ESV
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Psalm 9:10 / ESV
And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 36:7 / ESV
How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
John 3:16 / ESV
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
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