A friend of mine and I were talking about a devotion we had in youth and we still remember it. Our youth director went around and asked some of the youth why they liked their friend, girlfriend or boyfriend. He got answers like, "because they are cute", "because they are fun", "because they are nice", etc. Afterwards he told them that the difference in that love and the love of Jesus is that Jesus doesn't love you because of, He loves you "in spite of!"
There is a picture of Marilyn Monroe that says, "I'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes. I'm out of control, and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you don't deserve me at my best." I thought of, "in spite of." Jesus loves you in spite of all the bad qualities you have and all the bad things you have done. Unconditionally! Psalm 103: 10, "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities."
The good news is that God knows everything about us and He still loves us! Hebrews 4: 13, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Our failures do not surprise God, in fact, He expects them. If someone knew all of our thoughts they might not like us anymore but God does! He loves us IN SPITE OF! He loves us in spite of our sins, our thoughts - past and future. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. I like the way Rick Warren put it, "God doesn’t love you because of who you are or what you’ve done but because of Who He is and what He has done."
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