Tag Archives: unconditional love

Flawless in God’s Eyes

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by Sandy Kirby Quandt

The cross of Jesus Christ cleaned us up, buffed us to a shine, removed all the dents and made us flawless. Do you believe that? You need to. It’s the truth, after all. His love is unconditional.

In this man-made world of beautiful people, (who are they, anyway?) seems there is always a new definition of how we are supposed to look, act, think, behave …There is always some elusive mark we are supposed to hit. And when it seems we may be zeroing in on it, the mark shifts.

God’s perfect law and truth doesn’t shift. It isn’t a moving target. It’s not some elusive thing we’ll never grasp.

In God’s eyes, and recorded in his word, all have sinned and fallen short of his standard. There is no one who is good by his own works, no not one.

So where’s the comfort in that?

The comfort comes from reading further to see we are saved by grace, not by works as men think. We are subject to God’s rules and laws yes, but thanks be to God he made a way for us to be saved through the sacrificial blood of his son.

Thank you, Jesus.

Because of Christ’s sacrifice, resurrection and eventual return, if we belong to him through the power of his blood, then what man thinks really doesn’t matter. It’s what God thinks that counts. And God thinks we’re pretty special. Even with all our warts, bumps, bruises, mess-ups and failures. Special enough to die for.

Our scratches, dents, mess-ups, missing the mark don’t define us. Those things don’t keep us from Jesus’ love and grace.

Those are things the evil one would like for us to hang around our necks like Jacob Marley’s chains when he visited his friend, “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!” Ebenezer Scrooge.

Satan wants to keep us from believing we can be forgiven and washed clean.

This reminds me of a post I wrote awhile back relating how we are not punished as we deserve. Even though we might wallow around in mud holes, God can take out his powerful water hose and wash us clean when we come to him in repentance.

Feeling like a failure? Take heart. Christ has made us flawless.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Leave a comment below. If you think others would appreciate reading this please share it through the social media buttons.

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2 (MSG)

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Important Enough

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In a time in history when women had very little value in society, and were considered property of their fathers and husbands, the book of Matthew included the names of five woman important enough to be recorded in Jesus’ genealogy.

Tamar. A Gentile, whose desire to be part of God’s people and share in the promise given to Judah, pushed her to resort to trickery to have her father-in-law honor his promise to her. (Genesis 38)

Rahab. A Gentile prostitute living in Jericho, who believed in the God who led his people out of Egypt, was saved when she helped two Israelite spies escape. (Joshua 2)

Ruth. Another Gentile. A woman from Moab who chose to identify herself with God’s people when she accompanied her mother-in-law, Naomi, to Bethlehem after both were widowed. (Ruth)

Bathsheba. Dead Uriah’s wife. (2 Samuel 11)

Mary. The virgin chosen to carry within her womb the Son of God. Of whom was born Jesus. (Luke 1)

Five women. Five different backgrounds. Five different stories. Different personal lives. Different status. Different nationality. It didn’t matter to God. He used each of them, regardless. God’s grace crossed man-made boundaries. It crossed sins. It crossed loss.

What did each woman have? Faith. Faith in a God bigger than themselves. Faith in a God who took their brokenness and brought something wonderful out of it. Faith in a God who deals in redemption and grace. Faith in a God who is faithful even when we are not. Faith in a God who keeps his promises even when we do not.

God’s still in the business of restoration, redemption, and grace. He still uses broken and battered people to achieve his goals. He still loves unconditionally even when we may not be so lovable at times.

Feeling broken, cracked, rejected, defeated?

Just as God used these five women, he can use us. We can all be redeemed, and put back together through his grace. All we have to do is have faith enough to say yes to God, and his son, Jesus Christ.

Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar). Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah). Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. Matthew 1:3, 5-6, 16

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Even Still, God Loves Us

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Full disclosure…I am a sinner. But most importantly, I am a sinner, saved by God’s grace.

God sent his son, Jesus, into this world to die for sinners just like me. Even still, God loves us. Amazing grace.

Yep. In a world that can be anything but gracious, grace is a difficult concept for me to understand. Unmerited favor which I don’t deserve. I haven’t done a single thing to deserve the gift Jesus paid the price for me to receive.

Nada. Zilch. Zippo. Nothing.

An illustration which one of my preachers used to explain grace went something like this.

You get pulled over for speeding. Instead of the punishment you rightly deserve for breaking the law, the officer decides not to give you a ticket. That’s mercy. You didn’t get what you deserved.

But, the police officer goes one step further. She pulls out two tickets to the sold out, sought after, event you had your heart set on attending. She gives them to you. Free. That’s grace. Undeserved favor.

We can’t earn it. We can’t bargain for it. We can’t sneak in under the radar and snatch it. It is a free gift to us from Jesus.

I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. My friends, I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.

Philippians 3:12-14

 

Feeling a little undeserving? Join the club. But thanks be to our Heavenly Father who loves us anyway, for his amazing gift of grace.

Leave your comments below to share your thoughts on the subject. If you think others would appreciate reading this, please share it through the social media buttons.

 

I wish you well.

Sandy

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