1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1 ESV)

I began rereading Brennan Manning’s absolutely wonderful book, “The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus” and a few lines from what I was reading really stood out last night. We can get caught up in not fully understanding the relentless love God has for us. From the book;

”Unlike ourselves, the Father of Jesus loves men and women, not for what He finds in them, but for what lies within Himself….The Father cannot be offended, nor can He be pleased by what people do…God loves you as you are not as you should be…God loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness, beyond fidelity and infidelity, that He loves you in the morning sun and the evening rain, he loves you without caution, regret, boundary, limit or breaking point….His love will never let me down.”

We so misunderstand the Father’s love for us in so many ways because we limit His love for us to our human understanding. We must think of His love differently. Not so that we can do what we want that is outside of His will, but so that we can forgive ourselves for all that we have done outside of His will.

Reflect on: How you view the Father’s love for you and how you might need to change your understanding of it.