Get this: You are ALREADY loved by God. Full Stop. No conditions. No qualifications. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You are ALREADY a beloved child of God.
In the church world we have a word for this love – we call it grace.
Grace Defined
The bible is a great starting point for better understanding what grace is all about. According to New Testament lexicographer, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates – and with a name like that you know he means business – grace is:
that which causes joy, pleasure, gratification, favor and acceptance. A favor done without any expectation of return, the absolute free expression of the love of God finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the giver… It changes the individual to a new creature…”
In other words, grace is a no-strings-attached gift of love given to us by God that we may be transformed and made new.
The First Step
The Christian journey begins with accepting that grace. Before you can really love others, you need to recognize that you are unconditionally, irrevocably, ridiculously loved by God just as you are. Whoever you are, wherever you’ve been, whatever you’ve done in the course of your life, you are ALREADY loved and accepted.
