for all have sinned and fall short of the glory (the identity – the love) of God,
— Romans 3:23
Here is an interesting thought: Sin is defined by love. How is that? Well, sin has no shape or form. You were made to receive love, contain love and reveal love – to relate to Love Himself. Sin means that you fall short of that; it means you miss the mark and you are missing parts. You are not what you were created to be. You fall short of God’s glory – His Love.
Satan told Eve that she would be “like” God if she ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He made her think she would find meaning – vast oceans of power, wisdom and knowledge and the blueprint for her life within herself. This was the great lie! When she and Adam turned inward, all they found was terrifying darkness, ignorance and lostness. The most magnificent creatures began asking, “who am I?” They lost their identity because they didn’t know who God was. They became confused.
Let’s say I have a toaster and I say to my toaster, “you are the toaster; you make things hot and crisp!” But the toaster receives some silly lie that says, “you are the refrigerator.” So the toaster goes into chaos thinking he ought to be, should be, will try to be a refrigerator, but he is not a refrigerator. And so shame overtakes the toaster because he can’t keep things cold. Let’s apply this scenario to yourself. God tells you who you are and the devil comes along and tells you something different. You become confused because you listen to the lie just as the toaster did.
God says to His creature – mankind – you are loved. I created you so I could love you, relate to you, enter into union with you. I want you to believe Me and become secure in your identity. You are made in my image and likeness. Then satan says, “Eat this fruit and you will be like God. Turn into yourself and you will find it all”. Satan says, “Be independent”! He is trying to give you a different picture of yourself and if you believe the lie, you find yourself in shame and confusion.
This was not God’s plan; God created us to be dependent on Him so He could bless us and then we could bless others. But when we thought we should be something else – independent – the result was chaos and death. Does God throw us out? No, God is Love – present now – and He loves you just where you are. He doesn’t say He will love you when you get it right or get your act together. You get your act together when you accept His Love and identity. Abba Father loves you in the now!
“Wrapped in His love, you know whose you are and who you are.”
Receive God’s Unconditional Love