God’s Unconditional Love by Joel And Victoria Osteen
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. 1 JOHN 3:1 NIV
When we were children, the way to win the approval of others was to be on our best behavior. If we were good and behaved appropriately, then we were allowed to go outside and play with our friends. If we acted up and didn’t do the right thing, then our privileges were taken away. Parents and those who teach us have a responsibility to foster good character in us; rewarding or withholding privileges is just one of many ways they might give instruction about what’s right and what’s wrong. The way we perceive that discipline can feel like rejection or acceptance. Those childhood experiences can affect the way we view God’s attitude toward us as adults. Many times we think God is up in Heaven keeping a scorecard, counting our mistakes against us. We wonder what our rating is today. Is God mad at us or are we on His good side?
Those thoughts couldn’t be further from the truth. God is not deciding whether He loves and accepts us based on our actions. His love for us is unchanging and unconditional. If God’s love or approval for us were based on our actions that would be conditional love. John 3:16 says that God so loved the world He gave His only Son for us…unconditionally. He loved us and approved us before we could do right or wrong. He knew us and approved us before we were born. We can’t work enough or be good enough to earn God’s love and approval; we can only believe and receive it.
If we are going to live fearlessly and free, we need to let go of the idea that God is keeping score. Otherwise, we will struggle throughout our lives, feeling guilty and condemned by our mistakes. I’ve talked to people who feel like they could never measure up to God’s standards, so they don’t even try. They don’t believe God will listen to them, so they don’t pray and ask God to help them. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Romans 8:38–39 NIV
If you feel like that today, I encourage you to shake off that mind-set and open your heart to receive the unconditional love God has freely given you. God knows every mistake that you will ever make. All of your days have been written in His book, from the beginning to the end. God knows every time you’ll fail, take the easy way out, or lose your temper, and the good news is, God still
chooses you. He still says, “That’s my child,” and He’ll still help you fulfill your destiny. Why? Because God’s love is not based on your performance.
Knowing that God loves you unconditionally, you can live free from condemnation and negative self-talk. Certainly, you should try each day to honor God, but don’t beat yourself up if you don’t perform perfectly all the time. God loves you the way you are, so get up in the morning and say, “Lord, I’m going to be my very best today, knowing that I’m not perfect but that You are, and trusting that there’s nothing You won’t help me overcome.” If you build your life on this foundational truth—that God loves you deeply and unconditionally—then you can live strong and
steady. You won’t be focused on works, trying to be good enough to be loved by your Heavenly Father. You won’t exhaust yourself trying to convince God that you’re worthy of His love.
You never want to fall into the trap of trying to convince God how good you’ve been lately. Justifying why He should bless you, basing His love on your good works. That kind of thinking causes us to shift our perspective and start judging who is and is not worthy of God’s love. And, can I tell you something? None of us is worthy. You can’t work for God’s love; you can only receive it. The work has been done. The price has been paid. You could never pay the price that Jesus paid. He has already stamped the bill “Paid in full.” And because of that, you are loved unconditionally and can walk freely in His grace and mercy.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for demonstrating Your love for me through Jesus, Who covered my faults with grace, giving me hope and a future in You. There is no way that I could have earned Your approval, but I’m so thankful that You chose to love me unconditionally anyway. I accept the gift of Christ, and I praise You for what that means to me and for loving me even when I make mistakes.
Thank You for giving me the desire to please You and to get better every day—not to earn Your love, but so that I can live my life free to love You, and to love others the same way You love me.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
God’s Unconditional Love by Joel And Victoria Osteen was culled from ‘Fearless and Free’
