I Have so Many Weaknesses. Does God Still Love me?
The enemy wants us to think that our sins are greater than the Cross. He wants us to think that our High Priest who sympathises with us has given up on us. Let us not give heed to that liar! He has been disarmed by our Father and now God is enthroned in our hearts.
This article originally appeared in 'EGM Times Nov-Dec 2022' edition of Confident Answers.
Effie, oh how we all have asked this question at some point in our lives! No matter how further down the line in our Christian journey we may be, we still grapple with sin. Oftentimes our struggle with sin is more frequent than we wish it were. I think this doubt creeps back in because with each passing day we see how fallen our sinful nature is in contrast to the holiness of God. So Effie I want to invite you and all the readers to join me as we learn (maybe even relearn!) the assurance of God’s unconditional love.
This world gives us a distorted view of what love is. The view is so distorted that when we try and conceptualise what true love must be we end up drawing up something that seems out of this world. But maybe that is because love in its truest form is really out of this world. C S Lewis famously said “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” 1 Isn’t it fascinating that the most wholesome description of true love is found in the Bible penned by a former persecutor when Paul said,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails… And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” ( 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8,13)
Isn’t it profound that the Bible says God is love (1 John 4:16)! If this is the case then that means the description in 1 Corinthians 13 is what we will find in God’s nature and since He is unchanging (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17) we can confidently trust His nature and His love always! And who else can love us like this true love but God? If love keeps no record of wrongs but always protects and never fails, then is that not more than enough reason to run to God at any time?
Since God knows that the pangs of this sinful world will inject the poison of fear and deceit into our hearts and will make us doubt God’s love, He provided the greatest display of His unconditional love — the Cross. He showed us what unconditional love really is — we were loved by God when we hated God (Romans 5:8). As Matt Maher sang
“You blessed those who cursed You You loved those who hated You On the cross You died for me”2
The power of the Cross that ushered in God’s love is stronger than any force that could ever raise its head in arrogance against the Almighty. Paul unambiguously shouts out that not even hell can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38). The protective power of God’s love is so powerful that the strongholds of sin are rendered powerless. What could possibly snatch us away, make God indifferent to me or even make Him hate me (Psalms 5:11-12)! If Christ’s death two thousand years ago could cleanse and redeem you and me two thousand years later, then isn’t His sacrifice capable enough to cleanse me into the rest of my life? If my sinful state and rebellion didn’t hold back His unrelenting love from pursuing me before I was saved, would His love give up now? This is the unwavering assurance we have about what God has done for us. But there’s more.
The moment we accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour we invited the Holy Spirit to rule in our hearts and take the permanent seat within us. We moved out of darkness into His glorious light. We are now His children (Ephesian 1:5, 1 John 3:1). The sole reason we have this privilege is solely because the Holy Spirit resides in the heart of the believer and we are endowed with the undeserving privilege of being co-heirs with Christ.
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ,” (Romans 8:16,17)
Does all this mean that we should never expect sin to be found in our Christian life? No, not at all! Even Paul testifies to the constant struggle he feels in his body with the tug of the world (Romans 7:25). But Paul and all the saints who went before us press on unto the crown that awaits us. The onus is on us to keep our sights fixed on our glorious redeemer and keep pushing. My mentor once told me, “Christian life on earth is about progression and not perfection”. The enemy is hard at work to deflect our trajectory and lies to us that we are not children of God or heirs with God. He wants us to think that our sins are greater than the Cross. He wants us to think that our High Priest who sympathises with us has given up on us. Let us not give heed to that liar! He has been disarmed by our Father and now God is enthroned in our hearts. As Scripture calls us,
“... let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. …Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
As Horatio Spafford sang,
“Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come Let this blest assurance control That Christ has regarded my helpless estate And has shed His own blood for my soul”
Yes, it is well with my soul. Take heart Effie!
Endnotes:
- C S Lewis, Mere Christianity, pg 137
- Clean Heart by Matt Maher
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