Caught in the CrossFire

Looking at Gods character, next to our own, can be pretty daunting. Sometimes when I think of how inferior I am next to God’s greatness, I feel like I’m climbing an impossible mountain as a Christian. We’re under the rule of complete and utter perfection - how can we even come close to that? I know I certainly can’t and I become discouraged daily because of it. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve woken up with such enthusiasm, ready to take on whatever God decides to throw my way, and then end up going to bed absolutely drained and disappointed in myself. What starts of as a fire slowly resorts to a flicker when I realise how amazing God is in comparison to myself and my selfish desires. We shouldn’t be disheartened though- instead, we should take heart IN such unconditional love. When we measure God’s love for us, it’s unquestionably the greatest love we’ll ever experience because God doesn’t judge his love for us based on our imperfections. If he did, we wouldn’t stand a chance after we depart this world! The Bible states:

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans Ch5: v8

Even when we were riddled with imperfections, our sinful natures couldn’t overshadow Gods great love for us. Such love can NEVER be equalled or belittled, for God made Jesus the object of his wrath, so that we didn’t need to suffer - “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the Righteousness of God”. (2Cor ch5: v21) This is why Jesus is the only gateway to heaven – because God inflicted his wrath on Jesus, who represented our sinful ways on the cross so that we could have a chance to see Gods Kingdom some day.

Basically, we can access God and all his beautiful qualities of righteousness, holiness and perfection through Salvation, and all because God loved us. We disobey him, lack faith in him, doubt him, and yet he continues to love us.

Maybe you feel like you don’t deserve that Love, and your right - you don’t, I don’t, none of us do! But isn’t that what makes it so powerful? When we accept the gift of Salvation, we can utilise Gods love to lead a wonderful and fulfilling Christian life. He may love ALL his children, but he cannot love our sin. He loves us in SPITE of our sin but it doesn’t mean it can be ignored and we can all be granted a place with him forever!

So what should our response be?

“The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news” -  Mark Ch1: v15

This verse epitomises the step that must be made when you accept that God loves you and wants to welcome you a place in heaven. If we do this, our faith is justified through a trusting and loving relationship with God. Karl Graustein calls it being “credited with Gods righteousness” – we can deny our sinful hearts control of our future in eternity!

On a final note, remember that we are saved not by ourselves, but by Gods grace alone – “he saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” Titus Ch3: v5

Get rid of the false sense of security in your life if you profess to be a Christian yet don’t feel you’re experiencing the actions, thoughts and motives you should be having as a true follower of God. If you don’t feel like you’ve grown at all, or even have the desire too. Especially if you find yourself serving everyone around you BUT God, yet feeling as though you’ve fulfilled your Christian duty.

I’ve had to do a great deal of soul searching in this chapter of Growing up Christian. It isn’t nice for any Christian to be made to question the validity of their faith but it’s essential to move forward with God. Don’t ignore this crucial step in your walk with God like I did for so many years. It’s only now, after years of being a Christian that I’ve properly thought about the danger of False Assurance. Now I can move on and feel confident in my relationship with God, and while we may not be deserving of his love, we deserve to know our Savour if we truly wish to repent.