Yes, Jesus Loves Me

      I had a great time at Level Ground at Brushy Creek Baptist Church tonight. (The one in Taylors, not Easley. ;-) We had a bit of mix-up with that but it worked out. Lol) One line in one of the songs hit me- "O Lord, You know the hearts of men. And still You let them live.") (from "Psalm 46 (Lord of Hosts)" by Shane & Shane) 
      This brought to mind two Bible verses immediately- John 2:23-25 and Matthew 5:43-48. In the first one from John, it explains that Jesus knows what's in the hearts of men. And the heart is full of deceit and desperately wicked. (Jeremiah 17:9) Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow of The Almighty knows! And He knows it for everyone. And yet, knowing all of our thoughts and intentions of the heart and deeds- despite all our evil- Jesus loves us anyway. He proved it by dying for us while we were yet sinners- and He rose again. (See Romans 5:1-8 and 10:8-13)
       As the Matthew 5 passage notes, God makes His sun rise (I like how the verse reminds us that the sun belongs to God- that's His basketball to slam dunk through Saturn's hoops any time He wants to do so! :-))- and He makes it rise on the evil and the good. He sends His rain on the just and the unjust. He is incredibly unfair to all of humanity! I say this because if He were truly fair in one sense, we'd all be in Hell now. God had every legal right to do that at our first infraction. The problem is deeper than just our evil deeds though. We're born into it because of the curse of sin that Great Great Great Great (etc. etc. etc.) Grandpa and Grandma Adam and Eve unleashed on the world through their sin. 
       Thankfully, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to take the punishment for sin for us so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God didn't His Son to condemn the world (as I said before- if He had we'd all be in Hell now) but rather to save the world! In that sense, God is totally unfair, but so incredibly good, loving and gracious because in the midst of His righteous justice and judgment, He remembers His mercy and knows that we are but dust. And His salvation is so undeserved but so wonderful and freeing because we find all our needs met in Him!
       That's the incredibly good news of The Gospel! By faith in Jesus, when we ask Him to save us and we follow Him, He does just that and cleanses us from sin and declares us righteous instead. This isn't because of anything we've done- it's all because of what He's done.
Even for those who don't believe Him, He still lets them keep breathing and enjoy some of His blessings in this life. The fact that unbelievers haven't dropped dead yet- the fact that God sends sun and rain on them too and even allows them to prosper for a time on earth- that is a grace in itself. (See Psalms 73 for a reminder of their final fate though.)
        Knowing the utter depravity I still struggle with in my own heart though- the filthy thoughts and images that I allow to run around at times, the mean words I say at times, the shirking of duty that comes at times, the jealousy, the unrighteous anger, the worries, fears and doubts that run counter to the Truth I know and believe that crop up at times, the selfishness that surfaces, the lies that come out at times, the idols that crowd God out at times and so many other things that displeased God- it's amazing to think that He still loves me with an eternal love! (Jeremiah 31:3)
I may be an abomination, but I'm still God's pride and joy. (Borrowed that line from Phillip Yancey's "What's So Amazing About Grace?")
      A dear friend recently reminded me of this truth, I heard it and sang it again at church on Sunday (along with a great reminder in the sermon!) and I heard it again tonight in song- and it's still sometimes one of the hardest and most profound truths to allow to seep in, even for Christians. Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me- for The Bible tells me so. :-)
       He doesn't love me because of what I have done or haven't done. He loves me for who I am- His creation. Even though I've been His aberrant creation, He still loves me. And He loves so much He died and rose to pay for my sins so that I would never have to be separated from Him in Hell. Instead, I have an eternal love relationship with my Father and I will one day join Him in Heaven forever! I've been sealed by the Holy Spirit and I know He has saved me, is saving me and will save me- no matter what my feelings say. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world and even when my heart condemns me, the One who is greater than my heart and knows everything tells me that there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (1 John 3:16-24 and Romans 8:1)
      Thank You for loving me, God. I love You because You first loved me. (1 John 4:7-21) Help me to love You with all I have and love my neighbours as myself.
I am drenched in Your love and I praise You for it. Help others to know Your love too.
Thank You also for those You have used and continue to use to help me be free from legalistic efforts and keep resting in Your arms through Your finished work. Help me to be more like You and less like myself.