Surprise! God Loves You!

This morning I was thinking about our salvation, our coming to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  I was thinking about how surprised people are when they come to the Lord.  They are surprised by His love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness and His desire to have a relationship with them!  In the words of one of my favorite authors, "The Gospel seems to good to be true, but it is!" 

I was also thinking about how today, religion has somehow convinced many in the church today that the only way to experience God's love and salvation, His mercy, compassion and forgiveness is if people conform to a set of rules and behaviours, get their lives cleaned up and take up the same religious mindset.  It is then, and only then that the Lord will bless them, and let them into His Kingdom.  Most churches have difficulty welcoming the truly unchurched, those that don't know the Christian lingo, those that haven't embraced the Christian life-style.  We struggle to welcome people that are different than us, have different values or perspectives, look or act differently.  

I was saddened by this perspective because it sets up a conditional love and acceptance as a part of the Gospel we offer.  To be clear this is NOT the Gospel!  The Lord makes no such requirements upon us!  Paul writes in his letter to the Colossians 2:13 NIV:  "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,..."  He made the way for us while  we were still sinners.  He didn't only accept us once we got our lives in order!  

In fact, the whole time we were sinning, the Lord was right there with us, loving us every bit as much as He does once we receive His salvation.  His love is unconditional!  He loves us in spite of our sin, in spite of our mixed up ideas, perspectives and opinions.  He does not withhold His love from the lost, from the disillusioned, the deceived, the broken, the sinner.  He loves us all and stands with arms wide open! Since before the beginning of the world He has loved us all! (Eph 1:4)  This was my great surprise, recognizing that God loved me all along, and that He was for me!   

I was just thinking that it is a bit like a surprise party, you have no idea there are a bunch of people waiting behind the door, waiting to shower you with their love and gifts.  The moment you open the door the reality of the people gathered just for you hits you.  They are there because they love you!  That is how the Lord is, just waiting for us to open the door so that we might experience His love.

I pray that we might learn to love as Christ loves us, unconditionally!  I pray that we might learn to celebrate each and every person that the Lord loves!  I pray that we might learn to love those the church rejects, those considered unlovely.  I pray that we might learn to love others in spite of their sins, their different ideas,  different ways of acting and even life choices!  How are these people ever going to experience God's love for them if we, His church, cannot learn to express it without condition?

I am encouraged this morning that I need to learn to love without condition!  I know that I struggle with judgment. I am reminded of an encouragement from Paul's letter to the Colossians 3:12-14 NIV:

[12] "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. [13] Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. [14] And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

I pray that we, as the Church, might embrace these words so that others experience the same from us!  Oh, that we might radiate love, forgiveness, patience, gentleness, humility, kindness and compassion!

Amen and Amen!