Words, Love, and Authority

Does God not want me to accept love? Does He desire that I would despair in my sin instead of repent and move on? Does Jesus not want me to know the power of His healing and forgiveness? Does He want me to fail and ruin my relationships with my family, friends, and girlfriend? Does He want me to writhe in doubt and second-guessing? Does He want me to dwell in my mistakes instead of helping the poor, setting captives free, and working to bring the Gospel to all ears?

No. But do you know who does?

My sin, my brokenness, Satan, and all his horned and winged sonsuhbitches. Everything opposed to me. The truth, though, is that God wants me to succeed in what He has set out to do through and in me. His plan is perfect, and it can be worked out in us if we would only believe what He has to say to and about us. But bad things happen, life gets hard, and emotions run high.

There are things in this world that will try to dictate what the truth is. You are unloved. You are not worth being loved. 

But there are other things that will tell you what the truth is. “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.”, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but would have eternal life.”

These words are words of love. In a world full of pain and suffering, there are words telling me that my experience does not define the complete truth, but only a part: someone is against us. The good news is, supposedly, that God is for us. It’s very hard for me to believe this, with all of my failures, with all of my sin, and with all the sin and failures of this world.

Words are backed by what we do. I often fail to do what I think is right. The same goes for God. His words are backed by what He does. What is strange is that when He speaks, things happen. We all know it, “Let there be light.” and there was. Wow. Words that create action.

God’s most gracious and loving Word was the person of Jesus. His greatest verbal expression of love was spoken through frail lips on a cross: “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

And it was done.

There are people in my life who constantly speak their love to me, but it is hard for me to accept their words. The problem here is that I am claiming authority on what they think and feel. You can’t really love me, I’m a piece of crap.

But who am I to do that? I am not the authority of your love. I am the authority over my love and my love alone.

Jesus has told me that He loves me, and His work does not contradict His words.

I am learning that my experience in the past does not define the love of those most invested in my life.

I do not have authority over your love. But I do accept it. With gratitude.