“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now
remain in my love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each
other as I have loved you” (John 15:9,11-12, NIV).
Have you ever felt that
you will never accomplish anything of worth? Have you ever believed
that there is nothing you can say or do that will ever make a
difference? Have you ever known the burden of expectation that seems
out of reach? At some point in your life you have experienced
rejection, discouragement, despair, and pain. At some point you have
felt that you were just not good enough. I am what I think I am
(Proverbs 27:3). If I believe I am worthless, I am worthless. Whether
I realize it or not, I “do unto others” what has been done unto
me. If I have been labeled as never quite being good enough, then I
pass that negativism along in my expectations of those I love. If I
see myself as being beyond hope, then I see others in the same
light.
Into this seemingly endless cycle of despair at never quite being good enough, God attempts to break into our negative and pessimistic minds. He waits to speak life to all that we have suffered in our past, life to our present, and life to our future. He wants who I am to be found in Him alone. He wishes for us to realize that unlike what expectations we may have felt from others, whether real or imagined, His expectation is thoroughly attainable. He sees the promise in my life where another might not see it, and, if I truly listen to Him and obey His instruction, then I will find release from my human failures. I will discover who I really am. In His love, I can break that bondage of despair and frustration. I can do more than just hope one day that I can “become” free of all that has defined who I am, I can choose to really “be” free.
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child” (1 Corinthians 13:11a). I was once a child. So were you. Those who loved us watched us struggle to crawl or learn to walk. They watched every move we made, expecting to see miraculous change. They rejoiced over us when we achieved a new accomplishment, and they were sad when we failed. We were only little children wanting to me loved for who we were right at that moment―not for any accomplishment. God does not love us because of anything we have done. He loves us because of what He has done for us. When we accept His love, the bondage is broken, and we are able to not only know freedom, but to extend freedom in our expectation of others.
Into this seemingly endless cycle of despair at never quite being good enough, God attempts to break into our negative and pessimistic minds. He waits to speak life to all that we have suffered in our past, life to our present, and life to our future. He wants who I am to be found in Him alone. He wishes for us to realize that unlike what expectations we may have felt from others, whether real or imagined, His expectation is thoroughly attainable. He sees the promise in my life where another might not see it, and, if I truly listen to Him and obey His instruction, then I will find release from my human failures. I will discover who I really am. In His love, I can break that bondage of despair and frustration. I can do more than just hope one day that I can “become” free of all that has defined who I am, I can choose to really “be” free.
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child” (1 Corinthians 13:11a). I was once a child. So were you. Those who loved us watched us struggle to crawl or learn to walk. They watched every move we made, expecting to see miraculous change. They rejoiced over us when we achieved a new accomplishment, and they were sad when we failed. We were only little children wanting to me loved for who we were right at that moment―not for any accomplishment. God does not love us because of anything we have done. He loves us because of what He has done for us. When we accept His love, the bondage is broken, and we are able to not only know freedom, but to extend freedom in our expectation of others.
Our Father God longs for
our joy to be complete. For us to know His love that breaks bondage
we must remain in Him, and love with His love. We are to love others
as He has loved us. He has sent us to each other “to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from
darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and
provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of
beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a
garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called
oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his
splendor” (Isaiah 61:1-3,NIV).
May we learn to love as He
has loved us―to
speak life to each heart instead of death―to
speak blessing instead of failure―to
speak joy instead of despair―to
speak life full of peace and healing―to
see promise where we have seen failure―to
believe in what cannot be seen, and to know that one day it will be
true. Instead of someone who feels unloved and unable to give that
love away, we will become a great “planting of the Lord”―one
that displays His splendor of a heart that has been set free. We will
love as He has loved us.
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