We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Bruce Sampson.
Bible Reading:
1 John 4:17
“By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.”
Word:
I remember the days when I first started CrossFit- the excitement, and sometimes nervous butterflies I got foam rolling early before my 8:30 am classes. I don’t know if this was just me, but at the beginning I was very critical of myself and how my performance was measuring up.
In the sport of fitness it’s nerve racking to add up all the ways you can improve because there are so many categories. It’s just like those stats you would see on the back of old baseball cards. Endless! People would even ask you: “What’s your Fran time? “How much can you deadlift?” “What was your time on the workout?”
Every stat that I would count up would make me more insecure because I didn’t have the assurance that I was making progress. How could I really know if I was getting any better if improving in one area meant I was lacking in others? If I got a PR (personal record) on something, what then? There was just another league of athletes that I would find myself competing with to break the next time.
When we apply this thinking to our faith, we can start to second guess ourselves too. I know many Christians who struggle with the question, “How can I have assurance that Jesus has saved me?” If I were to sum up the total of all of my mistakes, I would need more than the back of a baseball card! I mean, how many categories is God judging my performance on in the end anyway?
1 John 4:17 says that, “This is how love is made complete…in this world we are like Jesus.” We are to look at only one category, the crucified and risen Jesus. Through Jesus, we have the full assurance of God’s love for us. It’s not that we could ever perform to His standards and save ourselves, but that in this world we live our lives pointing to the saving grace found in Jesus. Because in Jesus God’s true heart is revealed. We can rest assured that God is a being of total, self giving love.
Prayer:
God we thank you for freeing us of the need to perform. Because of Jesus we can have assurance that your love is for real. Thank you for the life you have given us in the sacrifice of Jesus. Would you allow your Spirit to compel us to love others in the same way? In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Skillwork:
Just be today. No performance. No “shoulds.” Just live today in the freedom of knowing you are fully loved.
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