In awe of His love

Having been brought up in a Christian home, my entire life I have been told that Jesus loves me - that he died for my sins on a cross and then resurrected. To me, Jesus performing miracles of healing or walking on water were facts, in the same way that the sky being blue is a fact. However, it became a reality, a transforming truth when it was no longer simply a fact in my head and I accepted Jesus into my heart as my personal Saviour and Lord.

We live in a world where nearly everything has to be earned: based on conditions, expectations, and achievements. The world screams, “Be perfect! Be good enough!” and I look at myself and it is so evidently obvious that I am not even close. Struggling with the feeling of never being good enough and having allowed my identity to be formed by what people said about me, came from a place of deep insecurity. It is frankly extremely exhausting to be constantly trying to meet people’s expectations, which is completely unachievable anyway. Even when I was accepted by someone I feared deep down if they truly knew me, for all of my flaws that I was constantly trying to hide, they would probably reject me. I had been fighting a losing battle.

In contrast, the radical Christian message is that the Maker of the entire universe, who knows me better than I even know myself, loves me more than anybody else could ever love me. The gospel declares louder than the world that, “God loves us so much that he sent his only Son to die for us,” (John 3:16); this is a love that cannot be earned- all of my best efforts and strength could not even come close to being remotely deserving of such a love. This message is more powerful than that of the world’s because it is TRUE! Jesus paid the price for all my shortcomings when he was crucified on the cross and in his last breath said, “It is finished”; Jesus has already won the battle, even conquering death. Because of all that Jesus has done, we can have a relationship with Him. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” This promise is compellingly beautiful; the God who created the world by his Word cares for us. When I come to Him in all my weakness, He gives me rest in His strength.

I would be lying if I wrote that I have overcome every insecure feeling and that I now have no worries, but as a Christian my identity lies in the firm foundation of Christ’s love for me and not in the opinions of others. The more I get to know Jesus the more in awe I am of his beauty and the more amazed I am by his infinite love. Each time I fall (which I do a lot) he picks me up and I can continue to walk with him, secure in his love for me and my identity in him! He is my best friend, my eternal hope and my greatest source of joy.