Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the starting point of living in Christ, not because our life in Christ immediately mends all of our brokenness, but because we can then stop seeking perfection. Instead, we seek Jesus, the One who is present in the brokenness of our lives. It’s not until we discover our real self with all of our desperate neediness that we discover who Jesus really is: a loving, accepting, kind, and forgiving Savior, Redeemer, and Friend... Acknowledging the fragmentation of my life is the single most painful and difficult admission I’ve ever made. It’s also the most freeing and hopeful thing I’ve ever spoken about myself. Discovering the need for authenticity has led me to develop trusting relationships with friends who are willing to ask probing questions that invite who I really am to come out of hiding. Today, I am convinced that God loves everyone with unimaginable depth, persistence, and intensity. I’m utterly confident that there is no way to exaggerate the immensity of His love. It knows no limits; it has no breaking point. Overflowing any limitations we might try to place on it, God’s love is, in a nutshell, like none other in this world. It’s for this reason that we can declare with rare theological certainty that God loves us as we are and not as we should be. Do you believe this? I’m not asking, Do you believe in love? That’s theoretical and inconsequential ideology. What I am asking is, Can you say with conviction what the apostle John wrote in his first letter: “We have come to know and have believed in the love which God has for us”? (4:16). God’s love is the content of our faith and a magnificent summary of all that we must believe. It establishes our true identity and brings peace, joy, and contentment the world cannot give. Jesus offers Himself to each of us as a companion on life’s journey—a friend who is patient with us, kind, gracious, quick to forgive, and whose love keeps no score of wrongs. He says, “No longer do I call you slaves . . . but I have called you friends” (John 15:15). Now think about how Augustine defined that term: “A friend is someone who knows everything about you and still accepts you.” Jesus is the fulfillment of this dream that we all share. Authentic discipleship requires knowing three things: our self as deeply loved, our self as deeply sinful, and our self engaged in a lifelong process of being restored. Confronting these essential truths makes it possible for us, “Notorious Sinners” all, to know ourselves as we are known and accepted by God.~Fil Anderson
Posted on: Sun, 18 May 2014 10:41:30 +0000
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