Tell your family the following:
- "We have another gift box today, but this time in order to open it, you must earn it. If you do everything I say immediately and without complaining, you may have the present at the end of our time."
- "The first thing you must do to earn the present is to make sure all the lights are turned off in the house, and then come back and sit down quickly and quietly."
When everyone is seated again: "You did a good job of turning out the lights. Now I want you to remove all of the dust from this room."
- If they begin to try, always find more dust that they have missed.
- Once they begin to express frustration with the requirement, stop giving them orders and continue with the next paragraph.
You were able to do the first thing you were told to do but the second you couldn't do. You could not earn this gift if you had to remove every speck of dust because the air holds dust specks that we don't even see.
"This box is wrapped like a gift but if I make you earn it, is it really a gift? Why?"
"I want this to be a real gift. You don't have to do anything to earn it. After we're done you can open it and see what's inside!"
God said in
1 Peter 3:18, "
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God"
- Do we have to be perfect before God loves us? How do you know?
- Does He love you even when you sin?
God doesn't love the sin, but He loves you no matter what. His love isn't limited like ours. He loves everyone and wants a relationship with everyone. His love doesn't look at the color of a person's skin, where they live, how popular they are, or how rich they are. God loves everyone, whether they love Him or not. God's love is huge!
Just before His betrayal, Jesus enjoyed the Passover meal with His disciples. The Gospel of John explains Jesus’ intentions during that Last Supper:
"
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour
was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved
his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." (
John 13:1)
First Jesus had a meal of fellowship, then He washed the disciples’ feet. As the Lord washed Peter’s feet, Peter proclaimed, “I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus responded, “Will you really lay down your life for Me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown Me three times!”
That is exactly what Peter did. During Christ’s darkest hours, Peter turned his back on his Lord. Did Jesus reject Peter because of his betrayal? No, Jesus loved even him unto the end.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER:
Trying to earn God's love cheats you out of the incredible relationship He wants with you.
You don't have to worry about losing God's love. What a great relief!!!
TAKING ACTION:
Thank God that you don't have to earn His love. Admit that you blow it all the time and that you sin, even if it's just in your thoughts. Thank Him for sending Jesus to pay for your sins so that you can experience His love relationship with Him now and forever.
