Forgiven & Loved

If anyone listens to Jimmy Needham, you'll understand where I got this blog title from. I love the music that Jimmy (who I like to refer to in first person, pretending that I actually know him personally) writes. One of my all time favorites is a song called "Forgiven and Loved". It's a song that reminds me frequently that I can't earn the salvation that Christ gave me. I am physically unable to repay the debt that Christ paid for me on my behalf. Not only did he die to give me eternal life but he also died to set me free from the bondage of sin. I find that I often need to be reminded of both: that I am both forgiven and loved. So here I am reminding both myself and anybody else :)

Forgiven
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace" - Ephesians 1:7

I can be the first to admit that I am imperfect and sinful. My favorite part of Jimmy's song goes like this: And His blood commands my guilt to leave/Now on Calvary I stand/ Empty pockets, open hands/ Oh there is no condemnation for me. Aren't those words so freeing? Christ's death has the authority to command any guilt over sin to flee because he forgave all of those sins. Seriously, praise God! That God would look at me and see me not as sin-filled but Christ-filled and pure. Even when you don't feel worthy of that forgiveness, you are still forgiven. When you can't understand why you're forgiven, you are. When you don't want to believe that you are forgiven, you are. His forgiveness is abounding and grace is abundant.


Loved
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

Isn't it sooo awesome that the Creator of the world, the One who knows exactly how big this universe is, and how many hairs are on your head, loves you and I? Not only does he tell us that he loves us but he proved it--by dying in our stead. Even though we will continually mess up and prove just how unworthy we are of saving, he still died because he loved. Um yes, that should blow your mind. I hope you know and feel the intensity of that kind of love!

Soooo with all that said, I hope you realize how mind boggling it is that our God both forgives and loves sinful man. I know I need reminding constantly. Know that this is the God we serve! Relish in it because you can. Tell yourself when you don't want to believe it. And live the forgiven and loved life out so that others can see the complete and true joy it offers. Love you all!