Jesus loves me, this I know

I betcha you thought I forgot about this 'ole blog, didn't cha?

Well maybe I did and maybe I didn't; the point is I'm back.  It's okay to let your excitement soar (note the sarcasm). 

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Jesus loves me

this I know

for the bible

tells me so

These words have been committed to my memory since I was a toddler.  In all likelihood this was the first song I ever learned.  Yet lately I have been struggling with those words.  I realized recently that I have not been believing those words.  Instead the song of my heart has been...

Jesus loves me

this I know

for I work hard

to show Him so

Jesus does not love me/you/we/us because of what we do for Him.

Somehow there must be a disconnect between my fingers typing those words and my heart accepting them.  I grew up with this mentality that I have to earn His love and acceptance. 

Jesus does not love me because of my "good" actions.  Nor does He fail to love me because of my evil actions.  

Unconditional love.  No strings attached.  No bounds, barriers or blockades. 

His love is whole.  His love is complete.  His love is perfect.

I struggle to not think that how well I love Jesus is how much love I will get back from Him. If that were true, I wouldn't be His beloved. 

True love

that is to say, His love 

cannot be earned, merited, or won.

It is a gift

given by a holy God 

to a wretched human race.

God's love. 

What a wild idea.

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." -Romans 5:1-9

Jesus loves me

this I know

for the Bible

tells me so