Beyond Love & Forgiveness.
The four most powerful words I ever heard are:
"Rick, God loves you."
These words transformed my life because they began to transform my thinking. I felt the touch of grace in my heart and it penetrated to the core of my soul.
As I have awakened over the years to God’s forgiveness and love, I have come to a place in my life where I also trust God’s acceptance.
Love is the foundation of acceptance and forgiveness.
Perhaps, acceptance is the foundation of love?
Could it be that God accepts us even before God loves us?
The reason these words transformed my thinking is because I believed them.
I believed that God loved me.
I didn’t do anything to feel or "get" loved.
God simply loved me.
As my understanding of God shifted from, not only a God who forgives me but also a God who accepts me, something in my soul shifted from a fear of God to a love of God.
God accepts me.
Say that aloud to yourself.
How's it feel?
It is one thing to be forgiven.
It is something else to be accepted.
It is much more to be loved.
Many folks believe that God loves them.
Many believe that God forgives,
but fewer seem to believe that God accepts them.
Why do folks struggle with acceptance? Does it have to do with accepting ourselves?
Do you believe that God accepts you?
Accept stems from the Latin word that means to receive.
What if you just allowed yourself to be received by God today?
Can you allow God to receive you?
Maybe you have nothing to do with God receiving you.
Maybe you have nothing to do with God accepting you.
Perhaps your life is simply a gift that God has said "yes" to.
Will you allow yourself to believe that God accepts you?
Will you accept your acceptance?
God, please help us accept your acceptance.
9 Comments:
Rick, God loves you. Powerful words indeed - and life changing too.
I liked your point that God's love is about acceptance. He loves us just as we are. No strings attached.
So many of us have poor self-esteem. We are somehow incapable or unwilling to accept God's love - but if and when we do, our world changes forever. mine did.
"Perhaps, acceptance is the foundation of love?
Could it be that God accepts us even before God loves us?"
Thank you.
God Accepts ME!
I said the words outloud - powerful
such lovely, lovely, transfixing, mesmerizing, hypnotic, beautiful, lovely, lovely words.
please, write to help me see what your real life, your less-than-lovely, your ordinary and every-day, plain-old, smaller-than-lovely, un-word-smithed, really ordinary, really regular LIFE is really like.
then the thoughts, they glow like real pearls.
Very interesting proposition.
"Perhaps, acceptance is the foundation of love?
Could it be that God accepts us even before God loves us?"
It is interesting that you phrased the tentative mood of a question. That made me curious and I started searching my electronic Bible, combing for an answer based on the Latin root "receive" as you pointed out.
Curiously, the search turns up nothing yet. Somehow the context of the word always made us the actor and not God. Strange!
Perhaps my search is too limited, or my mind is too limited. (And please point me to the right filter so I can get some hits). But could it be that the reason for the fact that absence came from the potential danger of us thinking, "God had accepted me and love me anyway, regardless of how I would respond to Him and His love. And so, there's absolutely no requirements from me to respond to His love!"
What do you think?
Thanks all for your thoughts and comments.
Luke, feel free to ask me questions. I'll be happy to share from my life. Actually, I thought I did or do.
I appreciate your encouragement. BTW, there was no link to where I could read about your life. Would you be willing t share that as well? Thanks!
Bumble, thanks for the question.
First, I do think we need to respond to God. I don't think my response has anything to do with the nature of God. God is love whether I respond to it or not.
I also think that many folks are trapped in their acceptance of God or how they have received God and not so much on how God receives us. We keep thinking we have something to do with the nature of God. Again, God is love. I don't have anything to do with God's nature.
Immanuel... God with us. God comes to humanity. Humanity doesn't go to God. I experienced the grace and love of God long before I ever could "respond" and still do.
We spend a lot of time talking about how sinful we are. I think much of it spits in the face of Immanuel. I think it can be false humility and nothing more than our lowly ego thinking we have something to do with God's love and acceptance.
I do think that God had accepted humanity and loved humanity regardless of how humanity responded. I think God still does.
I respond to God's love for that reason, it is love. I don't love my wife in order to "get" her to love me. I love because she loves me. I don't think God has a human ego. I don't think God "requires" me to do anything to initiate and confirm His love. God IS love.
I fell in love with a God who loves me and receives me. I don't respond to God out of fear or coercion, I respond to God out of his love.
I hope this helps. Thanks again.
Do you have Bibleworks software?
When I get into trouble spiritually, it's because I've lost sight of the image of God that loves, accepts, and forgives me exactly where I am.
So much of my life, I have found that I was trying to get to the point where friends, employers, lovers, or neighbors would accept me. If I just got good enough, holy enough, got the lawn mowed well enough, was (fill in the blank) enough, then I'd be OK, and I'd be accepted.
I'd agree with Well Woman - we're accepted and loved, because they go hand in hand. That puts the lie to so much of the "Yes, I love you, but I can't accept how you are" nonsense. God's way is much better, I think.
By the way, if you don't have Bibleworks, the poor person's Bible searching can be done at either http://bible.gospelcom.net (many versions, including NIV) or http://bible.crosswalk.com (many translations, including NRSV). You can search by phrase or word, and do all sorts of powerful Bible research there. Doesn't help much with original translations, though...
Hey Rick,
It goes something like this- acceptance is the answer to "all" my problems. Until I can accept everything as exactly the way God intended it, I can have no Peace...
Love is 1 part acceptance and 1 part forgiveness.
Love ya You bud Jon R.
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