Overflow

I never thought Gods love is something I would completely misunderstand. I had this view of God’s love that it’s conditional and that I have to earn more of it. It’s as if I have to do good works to get Him to love me.
In the ministry we are partnering with they require us to read a book called Spiritual Slavery to Sonship and this book has pointed out something I grew up knowing, but didn’t know it! In the book it says “The storms, setbacks, and disappointments of life have made us afraid to trust, afraid to let go, afraid to risk becoming vulnerable by believing God when He says, “I love you.” Because we do not love ourselves, we feel unlovable and find it difficult if not impossible to believe that anyone else could love us, including God. The thought of Him loving us personally seems too good to be true…and much more than we deserve.” This one passage blew my mind. When I think of God’s love it’s so unfathomable that His love for me has never changed, not when I was deeply rooted in sin or when I’m my best, it’s so unfathomable to me that He would even deem me worthy of love so much so that he sent his son to die for me. And even crazier, God doesn’t want anything in return for the love He gives us. He loves someone who doesn’t believe in Him just as much as he loves a leader at church. He wants our salvation, he wants us to follow him and be in relationship with him, but he doesn’t love us any less when we aren’t following devoutly or at all. The book also says this “You will treat yourself and others according to the way you think God feels about you. If you know you are loved unconditionally, you will love yourself and others with that same kind of love. But if you feel you have to perform in order to be of value to God, then you will portray the thought to others that they need to perform in order to be of value to you.” When we were asked do you see yourself doing this, my answer wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I can see others do this so easily and I can see someone whose love is conditional in the way they only love me well if they “feel” like it. I know when I feel like someone wants to invest in me I always ask myself what do they want from me or what are they trying to get out of me because in this broken world it has been reiterated so many times that peoples love is conditional and they can only love me if I can give them something or bring something to the table. It made me realize that’s how I viewed God, like I have to preform to be loved. I have to earn his love and strive to be better. A better Christian, a better daughter, sister, bestfriend, squad mate, or team mate. In reality, when I realize God’s love I can live out the love that is given to me so freely. I can reciprocate to others in so many other ways, ways the Lord has gifted me to. “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”
Ephesians 3:19 NLT like putting this Love so great, so deep, so strong, so amazing, and so beautiful we just can’t comprehend it. “Living out of the pain of our past hinders every relationship in our future when we are not willing to identify and overcome the root problem in our own wounded hearts.”

If we never address the problem of not putting our Fathers love in our hearts and not just our heads, we will love people out of our flesh. The Lord provides the love we need to give to everyone, everyday and if we don’t have it in our hearts we won’t and can’t give it to anyone. Fill up on our gracious Father so that His love may overflow from you into the ones he has placed in your life and path.

Please consider making a donation to my trip so that I may continue to “fill up” those He has placed around me.