Living As Loved

Confession: I have perfectionist tendencies which lead me to fear of failure and thus I am prone to procrastination.   I don’t like this about myself.   It causes me to not do things that I should do and even feel called to do because I place too much stock in the results.   If my results are less than perfect then I tend to see this as failure.   So many times I start things and then don’t complete them because I don’t think it’s going to work.   For example, I’ve been trying to write a decent blog post for the past couple of weeks but every time I start to write something I get so far and then quit because I don’t think what I write will be good enough.   I’m often critical of myself.   Can you believe that?   Pretty stupid, huh?

This morning I was challenged by a simple statement: What if I lived as though I was loved?   I’m talking about loved by God.   John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   God’s love for us is what gives us value.

Read this passage: Luke 7:36-50.   I have been forgiven much, therefore I can love much.

In Colossians 1:27, we learn that Christ in us is the hope of glory.   That word glory, I learned today, refers to dignity and worth.

First John 4:19 says that we love because God first loved us.

So what do I take from all of this?   Well, if I live as though I am loved then I should not fear failure because God’s love for us is not based on what we do.   There is nothing I can do to make God love me more.   I am not perfect and I will never reach perfection in this life.   Therefore I must do those things God places in my heart to do even if I don’t feel that I can do it perfectly.

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