Inspirational Sunday

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"

1 John 3:1

Rae's Thought: As a teen, I suffered from bouts of low self-esteem. I didn't hate myself, but I just didn't have the right idea about myself when it came to body image. At that time, thin was in and thick was out. Images of thin models and celebs were everywhere. Since I wasn't thin, and society said thin was beautiful, then that must mean I wasn't beautiful, right? This was what went through my mind when, at about 16, I decided that if I didn't eat, the weight would come off. This is a dangerous thought that plagues females of all ages, even today. I skipped breakfast and lunch and only ate a minimal amount at dinner, just so my parents wouldn't figure out what I was doing. This happened for months. Thank God He opened my parents' eyes to what I was doing. Had He not, I could've done some serious damage to myself. I could've become a victim of anorexia.

If Christians really understood the depth of God's love for them, do you think there'd be so many with insecurities, low self-confidence, depression, suicide, and other things? I don't think so. With God's love and acceptance, we'd be able to accept and love ourselves, and then we'd be able to spread that love to others. We wouldn't have so many women who feel that their worth is in men. We wouldn't have so many men who feel the need and pressure to prove themselves to everybody. We wouldn't have so many children committing suicide because they feel unloved. As an adult, I learned and understood the depth of God's love for me. He loves me, with my big butt, wide hips, big head, full lips, and all. I learned to love ALL of me. If God, who is perfect, can see past all my flaws and still love me, why can't I? I had to see what God saw when He looked at me. Yes, I saw my imperfections, but I also saw a child of God; a princess; an heir to His kingdom.

What happens when you keep pouring water in a cup? It'll overflow and spill out everywhere. When God pour His love into you, it overflows. You can't have God's love inside of you and hate yourself or others at the same time. It just won't work. God's love is more powerful. God doesn't want His children to walk around hating themselves or others. It's not in His will for us to continually put ourselves down. Once we gave our lives to Christ, we went from being dirty and filthy to being clean and loved. First John 3:1 tells us that He lavished His love on us. To lavish means to give in abundance; to shower. Do you really think God would shower His love on people who don't mean a thing to Him? Do you think He would make such a huge sacrifice on ones He didn't love...didn't care for? The fact that God thinks I'm worthy enough to sacrifice One so precious to Him and that the One loved me enough to go through with it, fills me with joy.

Allow God's love to fill you up. It's like a supernatural Energizer Bunny: it keeps going and going and going...His love is eternal. Romans 8: 38-39 tells us that "neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Nothing, absolutely nothing, can remove us from the warmth of His love. It gets inside of you and works its way through your entire body until it reaches your heart. It engulfs you like fiery flames, burning away your impurities. I promise you, once you experience His love, your life will never be the same!