“God did not send His Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Saviour and rescue it!“
John 3:17
I don’t know about you, but I quite often feel that God is Love, and He loves other people unconditionally…
So as I got to this verse this morning, I highlighted it to send to a few people that feel ‘judged’ and… then I got stuck… Because the soft voice in my heart kept on asking:
“What more must I do? What must I do that you will believe me?”
Verse 16 is the one we all know since we were 5 years old. ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…’ – That’s a lot right there. Jesus was sent to seek and save. Not to judge. It says it there in black and white?! (And now also in yellow, orange and blue highlighters with a big NB! on the side in purple)
God speaks to me daily, He shows me miracles, He cares for my family in a way I can only dream. I know He loves me, I know He cares. I know, I know like I know… so why the thought that I am not ‘good enough’?
John 3:20 says “the wicked hate the Light and try to hide from it, for their lives are fully exposed in the Light…” and also “… but those who love the truth will come out into the Light and welcome its exposure…”
Which then begs the question… is there still a part of my life that I feel too ashamed about to expose to the light? That I am still trying to earn my salvation, just a little bit? Thinking that if I am really good in these 5 areas, then God will overlook the other two?
Yet… that is a futile effort… returning to God is an all or nothing affair. Because God takes us just the way we are, and then slowly peels away all the rotten leaves. John 3:18 says *”So now there are no longer any condemnation for those who believe in Him…”*
A friend of mine asked me: “so now I must do all these things just for God to be happy?” – nope… we must just let God take away and clean.
When my kids play, they seem to attract cuts and bruises like honey attracts flies. The cuts hurt, and the thorns needs to come out, and daddy needs to do it. So we sit with antiseptics and ointments, and a tweezer or a needle and as much as it hurts them, it hurts me until the thorn is out or the cut is cleaned and bandaged. It is not a great experience, and we both wish we didn’t need to do it. But not doing it leads to so much more badness and pain.
“Cleaning up” is done in love…
