It is all about love!

I had an interesting conversation with a Christian today. I was explaining God’s relationship with us. I put it this way:

“Being a Christian is about a love relationship. We do the work, keep the commandments, and walk the walk not because of a demanding God because of a love that we have for Him and He has for us. When you love someone you do things not out of the fear that they will stop loving us if we do not do the task instead it is because we love.”

At that they stopped me and said, “I thought we had to keep the rules? I thought God would stop loving me if we didn’t keep the rules!”

Do we want to keep the rules, if you are talking about Jesus commandments; Love your neighbor as yourself, Love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and Make disciples, the answer is “yes”. There is a “but” to that statement. If we think keeping the rules like the ten commandments and other traditions are going to get you in to heaven you are missing the whole of the Gospel.

Let me put it this way; I don’t like taking down the trash. If I didn’t take down the trash one trash day, Paige might get upset but she wouldn’t stop loving me because of it. I don’t take the trash out because I enjoy taking out the trash, I do it because I love. My relationship with Paige and the kids is based on each of us doing are part to keep our home life running smoothly but we would never stop loving each other because of one part of the work not getting done. We are all secure in our love for each other not based on what we do it is because we are family. However, I prove I love this family by doing the work necessary to help the family function.

That example is a very simplistic approach to our relationship with the Lord. Every person must use their skills to help the family get it’s job done but it is not because of fear of not being loved, I am not able to earn my families love by my work but because I love I do the work.

Why am I saying this to you? Over 4000 people per day are reading this blog. I am not sure where everyone is in his or her walk of faith. It would be easy for some to have a faith based on works that will lead only to frustration, fear, and a lack of security in their eternity. I want you to be secure in God’s love for you and want your focus to be on that love which you could never earn. All you can do is to accept it. God’s love was shown to us by the sacrifice He made by allowing His Son to choose to die on a cross for us that the wall of separation, that we call sin, could be torn down by Jesus death on that cross.

If you simply accept God’s love for you then you are a member of His family. Even as a Christian we must let God of the “works” mentality. We can’t ever be good enough to earn God’s love. We must simply accept the gift of Jesus death on the cross.

His death is like the key that unlocks the door to heaven. When we accept the price of Jesus’ death on the cross to eliminate our sin. Then we have the key that unlocks the door in heaven, guaranteed! It must be accepted by love not earned by our work.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2: 4-8

By the way, I am stressing this point today because the person I mentioned in the beginning is a 30’s something, preachers kid!