by Natalie Lynn Borton
Do you know this today? Do you know the love God has for you? I always know it in my mind, but not necessarily in my heart. I’ve realized recently that without a grasp on the depth of love the Father has for us, we are incapable of experiencing the intimacy that God intended for us to have with him.
“When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your love, O LORD, supported me.” (Psalm 94:18)
God’s love supports us when we are slipping. His love carries the weight of our burdens and gives us a peace that surpasses understanding. When we feel like we can’t do it anymore, like we are falling and we can’t catch ourselves, his love is like a huge net that scoops us up and keeps us safe. I want to rest in that kind of saving love.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)
God’s love is like this: grace first, truth second. That’s not to say that grace is more important, or that truth is an afterthought, but rather to emphasize that he loves us before we are forgiven, before we are wiped clean of our nastiness, before we are even worth of any sort of love. He gives us grace in the moments when we are farthest from deserving it.
Sure, there is so much truth that follows. If truth doesn’t come into the picture, we do not get a full scope of God’s love, which is encompassed by the perfect combination of grace and truth. With God, these two always come together. The beautiful part of it all is that we get grace first — unconditional love first!
So today I ask you, do you know that you are so loved??
