Getting the Whole Picture

I remember attending a hockey game in a very old rink that had support posts quite close to the ice.  Although these posts gave you a comforting sense of being a part of something much older than yourself, they were annoying because you constantly had to look around them to see the game.

Sometimes it's like this for Christians too--many do not see the whole picture because there is something in the way obscuring the view.

David G. Benner, in his book The Gift of Being Yourself writes to us about Christians who are not seeing the big picture because their view is captured by only one part of the whole story.  This is what he said: "Some Christians base their identity on being a sinner.  I think they have it wrong--or only half right.  You are not simply a sinner, you are a deeply loved sinner.  And there is all the difference in the world between the two."

Do you agree?  Does it really make a difference if we are sinners or sinners who are loved?  At the end of the day we are still sinners right?

In 1 John 3:1 we read something pretty amazing: "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!"

The Heavenly Father looks at you and decides to pour His blessings lavishly on you.  You!  The one who is a sinner, one who still sins.  One who is identified by the sin that is in your DNA.  And yet. . . .yet, there is more.  There is One who looks upon you with compassion;  sees the dignity of your humanness clear as day, even though it's buried under layers of sinfulness.  He really sees you--and with all that reality glaring Him in the face He genuinely loves you just as you are.  And it doesn't stop there--He not only loves you but He decides to get involved in your life, intimately, wanting to spend time with you,  even desiring to be identified with you by living a life just like you:  walking the earth, breathing your air, experiencing the same things you experience.  Why?

Because He sees the whole picture and knows that the fundamental thing that you need is love.  It is His love that not only created you but also finds you again when you walk away.  His love is a pursuing love that never gives up on you.

Yes, I think it makes quite a difference to not only know that we are sinners, but that we are sinners that are loved.

Father, thank you for the hope that you bring into our lives by lavishing your love on us.  We have difficulty seeing the whole picture and sometimes we get bogged down by our sin that blocks our vision.  We praise You today knowing that You genuinely love us just as we are, and that Your love is sufficient to lead us to a place of wholeness.

BT