We are loved!!!!!

I started reading a story this evening. A story told by Ted Dekker. This reading, it seems, is all it took to shake me out of the reality of every day life. This single hour reading a story, led me to open my eyes to the story all around me. The beautiful and powerful tale of love and redemption that we are indeed living in at this very hour.

For when I am broken of the realities of daily life: work, sleep, relationships, distracting and tempting technology, pressures, everyday annoyances, and unusual struggles - I am left with an overwhelming thought:

We are profoundly loved by God. Truly deeply loved.

One of the most beauitful understandings of this is found in the father heart of God where we are called His children. Yes, in a world where we are forced to grow up and fend for ourselves, we are stll called into the reality of knowing and walking with our Heavenly father. For He will always be able to guard, love, and protect us. He provides, He comforts, He disciplines, He promises us that He has a good future for us. He calls us His own even when we are completely unloveable. We turn away, and as seen so vividly in the story of the prodical son, He eagerly awaits for our hearts to turn back to His and then He RUNS towards us in a beautiful embrace.

How foolish it is to picture an old man running towards the son who demanded his inheritance, squandered it away, and then dares to return. But true love is not afraid to appear foolish.

This of course can be seen in the love of the Son towards us. The father knowing humanity could not come back on their own, sent His son to Die a gruesome horrible death, appearing foolish on that cross. He suffered the turning away from his nearest friends, scoffers, a crown of thorns, severe beating, nakedness, and the slow, agony of being suspended while your lungs collapse. That, being bad enough wasn't even all that he suffered. For the Son, who walked in perfect relationship with the Father, took on the sins of ALL humanity and suffered the Wrath and Judgment of God in those hours. No, I cannot explain it but it is true without a doubt that on that day the Son bore my sin and yours. The penalty and just punishment that was earned and deserved by a corrupt race was satisfied in full by Christ's single act. Foolish? Absolutely. We didn't deserve his sacrifice for us. And make no mistake about it, without Christ we were on our way to be separated forever from the love of the Father and worthy only of God's wrath.

But Christ, knowing the inadequacies of humanity left earth and made way for the Holy Spirit to come. Talk about the ultimate tag-team marathon. The Father loves, The Son Saves, and the Spirit Dwells. For the Son did not abandon us. He showed us God in human form but who came after but the Spirit of God. The Son came in weakness, The spirit comes in Power. The Spirit is here to do the very work of God in convicting, comforting, teaching, reminding, and makes the everyday ordinary into extraordinary moments of God's glory. To know the Spirit is to understand the kind of love that dwells with the beloved. To know the Spirit is to know for a fact that we are not abandoned or forgotten but dearly and beloved children. To know the spirit is to be given the power to do all the works we've been commanded to do. Because we are not people that can do good works a part from the power of the Holy Spirit. So, in that God gives us the power to not only receive but act in this great love of His to share with others in a whole myriad of ways.


Thus, this one God in 3 distinct persons, which we call the Trinity loves each and every one of us in a fullness that are hearts and spirits long for. And this love is perfectly within our grasp.

How amazing. Now of course, the next cool thing is that as we are loved and called into this amazing family of God's. We are taught to live as Beloved Sons and Daughters of the Most High God. God then invites us to the family business! The family business is not easy to define because it is as vast and varied as are His people. I'm not going to try to define it here. Rather, I'll let the Spirit reveal to your Heart how You can take part in the family business. But this family business isn't one of pure expectation, for there is joy in serving and being a part of the family. As with any family, there comes great freedoms, benefits, AND responsibility. When in doubt, you can always look to the great example of our Big Brother, who also happens to be Lord, King, and Savior. Jesus taught us how to live. In this life, so much of following after Christ will be laying down our pride, and dreams and walking in the way of the cross. But every time we accept the death of these things we hold so dear, God brings new life and fullness. Don't let that statement fool you, the death of some of these things will undoubtedly feel as if there is someone ripping out your heart. But in these moments, we can trust that our Father has good things for us and has a reason and a purpose for bringing us through the harder things of life.

Someday, we will be invited to walk in sight and not faith. For now, we are called to this great adventure. But each adventurous step leads us to an even deeper understanding of the love of God. The vast, unmeasurable, unsearchable, love of God.

And that my friends, is only a speck of insight into the love of God. May we all seek to understand more, and as you do, I know you will walk in the fullness of one alive to the Spirit.