Love, a Motivator Not An Action

 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:6-8 ESV

You are not defined by what you do, the sum of all your mistakes. Neither does your validation come from other people - they do not get to say when you are good enough. Because God said, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) and in so doing He demonstrated His love for us.

I understand this best in a quote by Mark Ballenger in his book Redeemed Like David that goes like this: “God does not love us because of what we do. God loves us because of who He is.”

One of my sister-in-laws also wanted to add, “And what He has done.” But I think it is important to understand God’s love in regards to who He is before we start looking at what that love has done, though we learn of His love through what He has done.

Why is this important to me? To understand who God is first?

Because if I only looked at God’s love as being in the things He does - which I have - I start to doubt His love when things go badly. I start to think that since something didn’t go the way I thought it should, then from that place of crushed expectations I think God must not love me.

And if God’s love is tied to His actions, then His love for me must be tied to my actions and when I sin I can’t believe how God could ever love me, a sinner and unclean. So when I mess up I become despicable in my own eyes because that is the only way I can imagine God must see me.

But when you disconnect His love from His actions and see His love stays intact with who He is at His core, realization of how He still loves starts to sink in.

You start to see as Reeves did in his book Delighting in the Trinity how God exists three-in-one in perfect harmony and unity because of love. How creation poured forth out of God’s abundance of love, love He desired to spread and share. How in love the Father sent His son. How in love Jesus went to the cross and rose to ascend on high. How in love the Holy Spirit now dwells in our hearts communicating God’s love to us, every promise made in love, every work spoken in love.

When you separate love from works, God’s love is no longer defined by what He does. But God’s love becomes the driving force behind everything He does.

When we realize this, then we have a reason to cling to hope and be encouraged when things don’t go our way, fall apart, or seem to be all wrong. Because God’s motivator and purpose is love, and this love means He desires the very best for us.

This may mean God says no or not yet, because in His love He has prepared something better. Lysa TerKeurst put this beautifully in her book You’re Going to Make it as she encourages us not to give up praying but to “Keep pressing into God. Keep praying. Don’t pull away. He isn’t ignoring you; He is listening. He loves you too much to answer our prayers at any other time than the right time and in any other way than the right way…. Since His thoughts are higher than ours and His ways better than ours, I have to believe His answers will be more in keeping with what’s really best for us.”

I Told Myself to Shut Up

 “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2 CSB).

We had this cute little poem in a book of nursery rhymes when we were growing up: "I had a little tea party this afternoon at three, Twas very small - Three guests in all, I, myself and me. Myself, ate all the sandwiches, while I drank all the tea, twas also I who ate the pie and passed the cake to me" (Jessica Nelson North). I am like the person having a tea party with myself, except instead of having a tea party we have shaming and guilting sessions.

My inner voice has grown very powerful and negative over the years, reminding me of every little thing I did wrong, claiming each mistake means I haven't made any progress, and shaming me for not being able to change. My inner voice has become my own worst enemy.

Lately, somedays (especially harder days) God sticks a song in my head and my contentment through the slump comes from listening to that song on repeat. Well, this particular day I took the song off of repeat and the very next song Pandora gave me I wanted to put on repeat. However, autoplay doesn't have a repeat option. Instead I punched the "thumbs down" symbol which was in the same location as the repeat button. Immediately my inner voice began guilt tripping me for such a foolish mistake.

I was starting to feel horrible when I suddenly realized, "No, what I did was an honest mistake." So I turned to myself and said out loud (literally, luckily no one was around at the moment), "Shut up." Then explained to myself how I had nothing to be ashamed of, instead I had everything to be grateful for.

I was grateful for God blessing me with that song. The artists who took the effort and time to write, practice, and record the song, then paid for it to be streamed on Pandora so people like me could be blessed by that song.

I felt empowered as I took back control over my thoughts at that moment. While this victory may not last long and I'll most likely get setback, I read later that day to keep making "imperfect progress" as Lysa TerKeurst called it in her book: Unglued. Encouragement to continue, even if the process is miniscule, even if it feels like you’ve taken more steps back than forward, or even if you feel like you’ve returned to square one.

“Imperfect changes are slow steps of progress wrapped in grace… imperfect progress.” - Lysa TerKeurst Unglued

In Romans, Paul said it a little differently: “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” He didn’t say, “Do this one thing and now all your thoughts will be lined up with God’s,” he implied a process and he is informing us which direction we should and should not be progressing towards: “that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God,” but “not be conformed to this age.” (Romans 12:2 CSB)

Even Peter warns about staying where we were or giving up on progressing: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:14-15 CSB emphasis added). Because God has called us to be set apart or different. For the Greek word here for holy is hagios and the fundamental meaning is “different,” giving the example of how temples were called hagios because they were different from other buildings.

Has your inner voice been telling you things that pull you down or keep you in place? What is something about that situation you can be grateful for? Is there a verse that speaks differently from your inner voice?

When you are feeling down, what songs lift you up? Or minister to what you are feeling?

My songs tend to vary. But this certain day's songs were New Wine by Hillsong Worship and Great Are You Lord by All Sons & Daughters.

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