Tag: Forgiveness

Prodigal Son Shows God’s Enduring Love for Us

Unfortunately, God’s love is foreign to many baptized in Christ. There are religious Christians, of all denominations, who can cite Scripture telling of God’s love for us over the epoch, but sadly many good, church-going Christians don’t know what it’s like to have an intimate loving relationship with God.

This presents a problem when non-believers, who are searching, run into Christians who have an academic knowledge of God’s love, but cannot share any loving experience that may inspire others to follow the Lord. In both cases, it’s troubling to see souls live without knowing that God truly loves us and He can instantly impact our hearts beyond what any words can describe.

The Bible does give many examples of God’s love that can kick start our heart into loving God. However, the one that hits me hard is Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son found in the Gospel of Luke (15:11-32). Be sure to check the link to read it.

In short, the youngest of two sons leaves home and squanders his share of his father’s estate. Alone, desolate and afraid, the son returns to his father, feeling unworthy, but repentant and ready to accept a lowly servant’s position. What happens in this parable as told by our Savior is profound in revealing how much God, Our Heavenly Father loves us.

Here is part of Luke’s Gospel 15:19-20

19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 

20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 

Did you catch that? In the parable, Jesus is teaching us that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that even when we sin against Him and even reject Him, all we have to do is come to God, confess our failings (which are many), and He will not only forgive us, but run to us, hug us, kiss us, and then celebrate our return to the fold.

I have met many people who have doubted the love of God. When they ask me about His love; Instead of reciting the Bible as part of my answer, I simply say, “Just reach out to God in prayer, ask for His love and help, and He won’t let you down.”

The Good News is in the privacy of your own mind, right now, you can reach out to God and establish your own unique relationship with Him. You don’t need a special prayer or preacher to guide you.

Sadly, it’s difficult for many: For believers, it’s hard because of either guilt or pride. For non-believers it feels silly to call out into the ether to something that’s not real to them. In both cases, I simply say, “What do you have to lose by reaching out to a higher power that only wants to love you…all you need to do is be repentant and trust God to love you.”

Love is an abstract that doesn’t fit neatly in the equations of rationality. But it is real and it emits from God. Don’t waste another day without asking God to enter into your life and experience a love that’s beyond words. Love is a choice and it begins with making yourself vulnerable to Him.

God won’t force you to love Him, so you have the power and control of freewill. My advice is don’t be afraid to surrender to the one who Created us and gave us his only Son. I promise you, you will experience a loving and caring God in ways you cannot imagine.

Rejoice! Once you let Him into your heart, your life will be transformed and you will be empowered beyond belief. What do you have to lose?

God Bless You.

Enduring God’s Love For Us

As believers, we must have stamina, endure pain, and press forward in faith regardless of the obstacles put before us.

I don’t know about you, but being a good Christian isn’t all beer and skittles. That’s largely because of Sin, which is a pain in the butt. Thanks to Jesus, when we sincerely ask for God’s forgiveness, we are forgiven, but it doesn’t end there. In my experience, God wants to do more for us, in large part because He expects more from us.

In other words, His love for us means He wants our faith in Him to grow, which helps us grow, but that often means there’s going to be a lot of growing pains.

I titled my blog Enduring God, because that’s what living a life of faith requires. As believers, we must have stamina to endure the pain of life in order to carry our cross over the obstacles put before us. Those obstacles are not all due to God, but manifest from our own weaknesses and flaws, as well as from a secular world that wants to beat us down at every turn.

Moreover, to truly understand our character (the person we are when no one is around), we must be tested to see how we endure and respond to crisis and heartache. It’s in those moments of anxiety and uncertainty that we come face-to-face with our true character, which can be considered a Blessing for those of us endeavoring to be better Christians.

That’s not to say, when we experience a loss of a loved one, lose our job, or get diagnosed with a fatal disease that we rejoice in blissful song and ignore these realities. Unfortunately, for many of us, when we endure the hardest tests and most painful experiences, we turn from God when we should be seeking his comforting Spirit. Many simply ask “Why is this happening to me?”.

My blog is about inspiring readers to have the courage to endure the hard times, while finding meaning, so that you can become stronger in faith in both God and in yourself.

Through God anything is possible. Don’t shortchange your faith in Him, because He is there with profound love and compassion for His children. I look forward to sharing many experiences and tips on how to grow in faith and bring glory to our Lord, while gaining more purpose in our day-to-day lives.

Amen.