Too big to contain.....

I feel like we box God's love too much.....



I feel like we make His love conditional.....like we add too many "buts" to His love--"He loves EVERYONE BUUUUUUUUUUUUT....."


John 3:16-17 says ""This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again." (The Message)


God didn't send his Son--the SAVIOR of the world--to point an accusing finger at the world to tell them how bad they are......He came to help the world to make things okay. And He did that because He loved us. Perfection.....or "Perfection" doesn't necessarily qualify you. And your past doesn't disqualify you. You are beautiful. I'm done with the "buts". You are beautiful.....you are lovely.....you are loved. God loves you--no buts. He loves you. In church yesterday I asked how to handle all this criticism from other Christians. It's hard. It's hard to see someone you love being COMPLETELY and UTTERLY put down by Christians. It's offensive for me, honestly. And I've been a Christian my whole life. I've never really understood it. I know people who have been hurt by the church--let's face it, Christians can be mean-spirited. Maybe we have the right intentions sometimes.......it doesn't mean that things that we do aren't mean.


I was watching this talk show with my mom today, and there was a guy on it who had a REALLY bad past. He did drugs for over 20 years, he screwed himself up a lot. But.....he got his life turned around......and you could just feel his love for everyone. And I don't know if you guys have people in your lives who you can just instantly feel the judgment-free love from.....but he was that type of guy. And it's inspirational. I want to be that. It's hard to try to be a "good Christian" by following everything to the T......we all mess up. (I don't think we should intentionally try to get ourselves in trouble--naturally, it just affects us) But you're no less of a person if you've messed up. I don't know.....maybe I'm just babbling. I'm just so tired of people feeling like they're not good enough because of the labels that we've put on them over the years. It's time for the compassion. But moreover, I think it's time to really realize just how much God loves you.


The Song of Solomon (one of my favorite books of the Bible....) is a love story about a king and his lover--a Shulamite woman. In the beginning of the book, King Solomon tried to pursue her and would name specific things about her--from head to toe that he loved......but she was kind of resistant saying things like "My skin is too dark.....my brothers were horrible to me and made me stay out in the sun too long.....and now my skin is too dark". She had a hard time receiving it. But by the end of the book, her lover didn't give up on her. He kept trying to show her just how much he was absolutely in love with her. And eventually she realized it.....and things were beautiful. We've been the Shulamite woman too long--not only Christians.....It's time to open the door to your Lover and embrace the love He has for you. He is a big God......and He loves you more than you could ever fathom. Open your eyes and see the beauty around you. You are more than enough for His love. And He will NEVER stop loving you. Your past will not make Him stop loving you. So, open your eyes and be open to it......you never know what will happen....