Earning God’s Love
We often try to win God’s approval, but the résumé we present to Him is as useful/less as a birthday résumé. However, I’m not at all surprised that we often try to substitute our “good works” for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. It makes sense to try to build a résumé of good works. In just about every other capacity of our lives, we have to measure up:
Earn grades.
Earn money.
Earn respect.
Earn a promotion.
Earn followers.
Earn trust.
It only feels natural to extrapolate that learned behavior to God. But God shifts the entire paradigm and tells us we don’t have to – and can’t – earn His love or His acceptance. The only One He found acceptable was Jesus, therefore, Jesus is the only way for us to have eternal life with God (John 14:6). We will never be good enough… and that’s a relief. As a matter of fact, God even built in a day of every week that He expressly does not want us to earn anything – a Sabbath. He portioned out a time in which we would not work or earn, but He would still love us.
This is one of the important details that separates Christianity from other major world religions, and it’s an essential part of our faith. God gives us His love, redemption, and a relationship with Him as a free (not earned) gift through Jesus Christ. We don’t have to spin wheels over shed blood.
And although we are fickle with our affections, God’s love does not need a barometer – His love is constant, true, and continuously maximized. His love for His children does not run hot or cold, it just is. He is the author of love and loved us first (1 John 4:19). We don’t have to perform for His love.
“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift – not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
“My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.” May we all rest and revel in that truth.
Dear Lord, thank You that we don’t have to earn Your love. You called us and we showed up, redeemed by Jesus’ blood and that’s enough. There is nothing we did, or will do to earn Your love. May that truth remain front and center for as many days as You give us. Lord, I pray that You make Your love abundantly known to the beautiful children living as orphans, in poverty and those who feel unloved by their earthly families? May they know that they have a Father whose love they don’t have to earn, it is lavished freely. Lord, thank You for Your love. Amen.”
Is God calling you to serve at Caring Love Foundation Uganda – CLFUG today? Pray about it and welcome to Serve and partner with us! We need you. You can use your education, experience, resources and skills to help make a huge difference in children’s lives.
1 Corinthians 13:13 Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love. We believe when Jesus died on the cross He died for all. Through CLF we hope to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Tell everyone you know about Caring Love Foundation ministry, Talk to your church, Bible study group, youth group etc about the cause of Supporting children in Uganda so we can help as many children as we can – share our story with friends and family, on social media, any way you can…spread the word! We love you.
