So much.
I am receiving so much more of your love. More than I would have ever imagined.
Paul prayed earnestly that we would understand how much our Loving Father loves ... us.
How much He loves ... ME!
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)
For the last eight years, I have carried with me a picture of Geppetto and Pinocchio from the Disney movie. I often carried this with me because it featured how much God is my Father, that He loves me.
And His love makes me a REAL BOY!
Yet only recently am I understanding the real depths of how much He loves me.
I "knew" that God was my Daddy, Daddy God, Abba Father (cf Romans 8:15)
But I still needed to learn to believe it. I was still struggling to rest in that revelation, to let that knowledge permeate every aspect of me.
So many lies have been peeled away. What I used to believe, all of that is falling away.
I am facing intereting challenges at this time. I had hoped it would never have come to this. But, if this is what I took, I thank God again and again!
Bad times give way to GREATER GLORY!
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)
His love for us is not some fantasy. It's not a vain thought experiment.
It's real! And His love makes us "real boys", just like His Son! We are no longer dead, nor do we have to animate ourselves based on our self-efforts, much like Pinocchio when he was still made of wood.
The French terms read from top left to bottom:
Mort: dead
Vivant Sous La Loi: Living Under Law
Vivant Sous la Grâce: Living Under Grace
Wood speaks of the Flesh, and Pinocchio, as long as he was wooden, trying to be real through his efforts, he continued to stumble, to fall, to fail. When he rested, when he stopped trying and started simply believing, he became a real boy.
In a similar fashion, Christians "try" to live them Christian life. They rely on their efforts, they try to love others, and they end up stumbling, falling, failing.
God invites us to walk in the Spirit! (Galatian 5:16) He invites us to receive the new spirit of sonship! (Romans 8:15)
That's how we continue to walk in the Spirit. We see who we are in Christ!
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (1 John 3:1)
Do you see that? That's the kind of love God has for us! He makes us His Sons, and it all starts with His Son, Jesus!
And as always:
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)
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