God's Love Supersedes

Christ loves us. Point. Blank. Period. If there is anything that is difficult for me to understand in life, it would be His love for me. It's so grand, that it is a hard concept to grasp and can't be placed into a human engineered box. Despite my shortcomings, my backsliding, my constant "do-overs," His love has never and will never waver. I read on FB once a post from Joyce Meyers that stated something to the sort: "He does more than just loves me, He is love." Let that soak in for a minute. He loves us not out of duty, but because it's who He is! Glory! He has the ability to consume us fully and love on us so much that we have extra to pour into each other. 

"We love each other because he loved us first." (1 John 4:19 NLT)

I will be the first to admit that I am not always acting out of love in everything that I do. I am very much still a work in progress and God has His divine hands all over me (Amen!) What I am saying though is that God has loved us, does love us, and will continue to love us through it all. There isn't anything that we have done, are currently doing, or will do that will make Him love us any less. It's who He is! That's the good news. I have to constantly remind myself of this daily when the devil wants to condemn me and cast me away from my Heavenly Father. The addendum to the good news however, is that His unfailing love does not give us a pass to live as we please. Every action that we partake in that does not bring honor and glory to our Father hardens our hearts toward Him. How can we receive love with hardened hearts? 

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." (Proverbs 4:23 NLT) 

We have to do better at monitoring what we allow into our hearts: people, thoughts, entertainment, etc. These things will plant seeds and before we know it they will have slowly, but surely, helped us to turn our backs on God. Will He still love us the same? Of course. Does that makes it acceptable? Absolutely not. Christ yearns for us to be living examples and to love one another unconditionally the way that He loves us, but we can't do that if we constantly take advantage of His love for us and fulfill our fleshly desires. Have you ever experienced a relationship where you felt like you weren't being appreciated and no matter what you did, your partner constantly failed to realize your worth? I have. It left me with an extreme heartbreak partnered with feelings of neglect and betrayal. Now imagine this...that's how Christ feels. When we act as if we can do it without Him and nothing that we do affects Him, WE are being the partner in the relationship who refuses to appreciate His worth. And He is so worth it! Honestly, He is the only partner that we will ever have who can appreciate us in our very essence and love us beyond what we could have ever imagined. It takes constant reminders and at times I may still question why, but I am certain that Christ's love for me supersedes any love that I will ever experience. Love back on Him everyday, all day. Pray on the strongholds; fast if necessary, but fight to love Him just an ounce of the way He loves us. We can never fully get there, but He is so worth the effort! :-)

Rochelle Burnley is a queen of all trades. She loves the Lord and desires to spread His love and light to everyone that she is blessed to touch. A producer by profession, she intends to use her gift of storytelling to spread the good news and to represent Christ. A proud Baltimore native, Rochelle leaves trails of purple along her life's journey. She is a chocolate connoisseur; as well as a lover of good movies, music, books, and food. She takes the phrase "shop until you drop" seriously. She holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Communications from Hampton University and is currently enrolled in The New School for an M.S. in Media Management.