Our church has been going through a sermon series all about the first church as described in the book of Acts. It has been a powerful study, not only as we learn about the context that the early church was operating in, but also to see the connection to our lives in the here and now.
This past Sunday we reached the story of Saul. Basically, he was a devout Jew who was convinced that the Jesus movement was a virus that needed to be purged from the Jewish community. This meant he was tracking down anyone who was a believer and throwing them in jail. But, as he was traveling to Damascus to arrest the believers there, he encountered the Lord, who told him that he was wrong, because he had been persecuting Him.
Now, I have heard this story many times, but he went on to talk about how Saul, who was later called Paul, spent the rest of his life spreading the story of Jesus, and how in his letters to the Christians in Rome, Ephesus, Crete, he always reminded them that before they were “good”, God loved them. Once again, something that as Christians, we hear all the time…that it isn’t anything that we do that makes us righteous, but it is and was His pure love for us that sent Jesus to the cross to pay for our sins.
He explained it like this…and this is how I relate it to me. As a parent, I am glad when Madi obeys the first time, but that’s not why I love her. I am proud that she is able to color inside the lines and draw stick people, but that’s not what I love her for. I was excited when she took her first steps, but that wasn’t what made me love her. I loved her before she was born…before she did anything. Before she was able to give me a hug or tell me she loves me or help set the table.
Same with God…he loved us first. He doesn’t love us for the money we donate or because we’re a good person. He doesn’t love us because we smile at strangers or because we go to church. He loves us knowing that we are going to be hateful and frustrated and inconsistent, and he still decided that we were worth saving. He loved us before we were able to do anything…before we were even born.
The reminder? Made me cry…especially as a parent, because it is so true – you love your kids more than anything in the world, and you love them just as much when they are helpless and dependent as when they are able to help with the dishes. Your love is not tied to what they do for you…and it was a powerful reminder that God is absolutely the same way.
Very true!Ben