Love.

Today, I couldn't stop thinking about God's tenderness. He has the capacity to rage and storm Old-Testament-style: plagues and wrath and smiting left right and center. Yet he is so infinitely gentle and careful with us.

A while ago, a friend posted to me a love letter from God (which was copied from here.) The letter is knitted together with quotes from the Bible, and the references for each sentence are on the site.

In case, like me, you also lose sight from time to time of the lengths to which God went to win us - this is for you.
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"You may not know me, but I know everything about you. I know when you sit down and when you rise up. I am familiar with all your ways. Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.

For you were made in my image. In me, you live and move and have your being, for you are my offspring. I knew you even before you were conceived, and I chose you when I planned creation.

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. I knit you together in your mother's womb and brought you forth on the day you were born.

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. And it is my desire to lavish my love on you, simply because you are my child and I am your Father. I offer you more than your earthly father ever could, for I am the perfect father. Every good gift you receive comes from my hand, for I am your provider and I meet all your needs.

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope, because I love you with an everlasting love. My thoughts towards you are countless as the sand on the seashore, and I rejoice over you with singing.

I will never stop doing good to you for you are my treasured possession. I desire to establish you with all my heart and soul, and I want to show you great and marvelous things.

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Delight in me, and I will give you the desires of your heart. For it is I who gave you those desires. I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine, for I am your greatest encourager.

I am also the father who comforts you in all your troubles. When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes, and I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. I am your father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus.,

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. He is the exact representation of my being. He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you, and to tell you that I am not counting your sins. Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you, I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me and nothing will ever separate you from my love again. I have always been Father, and will always be Father. My question is, will you be my child? I am waiting for you."

Happy Tuesday!

The 'Perfect' Christian

Christians are p e r f e c t.

Our lives, our perspectives, our hearts: perfect. Right?

Or not.

Many of us wait for perfection out of our own efforts, for lifestyle tweaks that we have no intention of carrying out anytime soon, not wanting to be that Christian who still struggles with addiction or depression or apathy. It's almost as if we think perfection can be achieved by humans, and that becoming perfect is a requirement before we are allowed to come before God and call ourselves Christian.

Only God has perfection down, and the rest of us still have a long way to go. But did you know that God doesn’t actually want you perfect? He wants you just as you are. He has had His arms open, waiting for you to come home, for a long time.

Giving your life to Christ won't make you perfect. We don’t wake up the morning after 'the decision' without the troubles, flaws or people that make life difficult; instead, we wake up on a different path to where we were before. This path has a light, this path has a hand to hold and this path has people in front of us cheering us on.

I’ve spent a lot of my life hiding behind a mask, always laughing, always giving other people advice and pretending that I don’t have any troubles myself. But behind closed doors I would hate a lot of things about myself. My biggest fear was that people would not accept me if they knew what I struggled with, or that they didn’t care. I often felt alone even when I had friends around me. I go to a big church, and there would be times when I wouldn’t go for several weeks and no one would even have noticed.

The first time I started feeling lonely I ran away from church; the second time, I took on project after project in an attempt to distract myself from thinking about what was troubling me. I couldn’t understand why I felt so down, and kept searching for answers and fulfillment in other things. The Bible turned out to be my last resort. I decided to read Romans, and as I read, I felt a peace wash over me. God reminded me that He was the hole I was trying to fill, He was what was missing from my life. It didn’t matter how many projects I took on or how many times I tried to run away from Church, God was the only solution.

I know that my life isn't perfect. I have struggled with depression for a lot of my life, and many times throughout the year, especially in winter, I find myself battling with depressive thoughts. But God constantly reminds me that I am on a journey. My struggles have actually made me stronger and have reminded me that everyone faces challenges. God is there for us, to help us overcome them: our strength, purpose and hope is found in Him.

We cannot expect to gain from the world, something that the world never possessed to give. God is the author of perfection, and it is He who writes our stories.

Encouragement...

Don’t focus on the flaws that you have. God made you in His image!
 “So God created mankind in his own image” Genesis 1:27

Tell someone your struggles. When I told my friends what I was going through, most of them had either been through it or were going through the exact same thing. One of the enemy's most powerful lies is to convince us that we are alone - but that is all it is: a lie. “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” Proverbs 18:24



Jesus didn't come for perfect people: if he did, he wouldn't find any. He came as God's perfect rescue plan for us: the flawed, the broken, the hurting and the lost.
"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:31-32