Have you noticed how mama bears are protective of their cubs? They might swat their cubs from time to time, but they are blameless because they would lay down their life for them.

Sometimes my husband David has to get onto our daughter Ashtyn. I don’t question it because I know the depth of unconditional love my husband has for our daughter, no matter how frustrated he gets. This pales in comparison to God’s love for US.

Unconditional Love

You know how the first child gets beaten, the middle child gets hand-me-downs, and the last child gets away with everything. In fact, sometimes I wonder if the same parents raised all three kids! Well, in God’s eyes, Jesus was the first child and we are the last child. Jesus paid the price and took the beating when He wasn’t even the one who deserved it.

We Try, But We Fail And Give Up

I mentioned being deserving. God loves us not because of our outward condition but because of our inward position in Christ. We need to rejoice in the Lord, based on what He did for us. You see, religion is looking for behavior modification. A relationship with Jesus changes our heart, which changes our behavior.

We TRY to change, but when we think we’re bad we tend to “do bad.” We lose a few pounds and get motivated to go to the gym. Then we miss a few days, we binge on Krispy Kreme donuts, beat ourselves up, and quit. We can’t do it on our own.

So You Think You Can Impress God?

Our righteousness is unusable to God. It’s like filthy rags. We can’t do anything to impress God. Righteousness says, “Hey look at me, I’ve done good for 3 days!” This is an attitude that likely makes God shake His head.

Back in the day, the priest would look at the lamb that was brought in for sacrifice. He didn’t look at the person who brought it in. Likewise, God looks at Jesus and what He did on our behalf, not what we do on a daily basis.

Rejoice And Stop Believing The Con

Today, rejoice, RE-JOY-CE, REJOICE in the Lord and don’t be conned into being damned anymore, for that is what condemnation does; it cons us into believing a lie. There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

Have you spent time with Him lately or invited Him into your day?