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God's love for bad Christians

More thoughts inspired by reading Dave Tomlinson's book.  On the subject of God's love he says:

'I have seen many, many lives transformed by the realisation of God's unqualified love.  This, I think, is the real power of the Christian message, so often buried under tons of religious dogma that has nothing to do with the teaching of Christ.  Knowing that God loves and values us can enable us to value ourselves better, to develop self-respect.  And this provides the basis for making better choices in life, for strengthening personal integrity, and for empowering us to decide who and what we wish to be, instead of being pushed around by the whims of others or by the fashions and fads of the wider culture.'

God's unqualified love is absolutely the heart of the Christian message.  God made you, God loves you, God's son died for you, God wants you to love him too.  But the 'real power' is not simply that we know God loves us and therefore we can live better.  I believe God's love transforms us directly, not simply through our understanding of that love.  God loves us in a way which has an effect on us whether we grasp it or not.  God's love is a saving love, which does not depend on us at all but entirely on God.  

I guess it all depends on how hard you think it is to make good choices in life.  Personally I find it really hard.  And knowing God loves me helps, but I can't become a better person through willpower alone.  The mysterious power of God at work in me through his Spirit is what I need; the mysterious power of God's love poured out on the cross.

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