Grace & Mercy

Oh How He Loves Us

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
I realize just how beautiful you are
And how great your affections are for me

And oh, how He loves us so
Oh, how He loves us
How He loves us so
Yeah He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves

We are His portion, and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking
So Heaven meets Earth like a sloppy, wet kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves

I had never heard this song before, but it was part of the worship service at Buckhead Church this past weekend. It really rang true for me, and was what I needed to hear. Funny how the Lord has a way of relating to us even though we can't see Him. "If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking." I would be so lost and completely without hope if not for the grace of God. "I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us"... Jesus loved us so much that He came to earth and died for us in order to absorb God's righteous anger for our sin. God is a merciful and forgiving God. But at the same time, He is equally just. When sin occured, someone had to pay... and Jesus came to take away the sin of the world. God loved us so much that He sent His only son to pay the price for us. I can't help but stand in awe of a God that loves me (and all of His children) so much. He doesn't want us to live a lifetime of regrets. We have been forgiven by Him when we ask for His grace, so we should celebrate in that and move forward...and take care to live a life that is holy and pleasing to Him. We'll still fail anyway, no matter how hard we try....but He's there to catch us and love and forgive us all over again when we do.

Since God is my Father, He demonstrates how I should live my life through His own actions just like our own fathers here on earth do. So by extending me completely undeserved mercy and forgiveness despite all of my faults and all of my sins, He is also telling me He expects me to extend the same love and forgiveness to those who have hurt and betrayed me. Love one another as He has loved you.

And so with that...I make the conscious decision to love and forgive those who have hurt me, even if they don't know it.