On this Valentine’s Day.
Remember.
You are loved.
You are a child of God, brought into the world intentionally… with a plan and purpose.
God wants you here. You are beloved by your Creator. God delights in you.
Shoot. Hard truth comes now. Crap!
You are lost in sin. Trapped in it.
Reality.
You do things you don’t want to do. You don’t do things you want to do. You fail to love, fully. To love God. To love others. To love yourself. Reality. For all of us.
Greater truth now. We need to get to this next. Now. Immediately.
Best truth. Game-changer. Life-changer!
Ready? GET THIS. Here it is…
YOU ARE REDEEMED BY JESUS.
Let’s say it again. At the very moment that sin wants to rush in.. to define you, to tear at you… to rip your self-worth and self-understanding apart… AT THAT VERY MOMENT: GRACE BREAKS IN INSTEAD. And YOU ARE LOVED BY THE INVENTOR, THE AUTHOR OF LOVE. So this truth NOW defines you: You are loved. And you are redeemed, by Jesus, in and through the Cross. And… this changes everything.
This. Changes. Everything.
It changes your self-understanding. Your reason for being here. Your sense of calling. Your grounding. Your direction. Your future. Your eternity.
And so, it changes, too … your motivation to love others. And your ability to receive THEIR love for you. And your ability to love YOURSELF.
It changes your heart.
This changes YOU.
Hear it. Know it. Jesus loves you. You are forgiven. You are free to be the person God brought you into the world to be.
This changes everything.
And, know this, too.. as an added bonus… You are sanctified and kept in faith by the Holy Spirit. You are empowered, called to share that same love with those around you. You get to love people! Not for what they can do for you, but because you know you are loved, and BECAUSE you know this, this love for others flows out of you naturally. It is the Spirit’s work in you. And there is great freedom and joy in this too.
So..
Don’t doubt this truth: You are loved. Jesus loves you.
Don’t doubt it! Don’t ever forget it.
Don’t ever let this reality stop defining you.
God wants you here.
And God is with you.
YOU. ARE. LOVED.