Prone to Love (4) - Faith

Ethan recently got a brand new Buffalo Bills jersey. When he walked into the room wearing it, he was smiling ear to ear. Then he asked me an awesome question, “Dad, do I look as good as I feel?” I laughed, “Son, you look even better than you feel!”

I think the reason it is so easy to believe we are prone to wander is because we have all done some wandering. We have all turned our backs on Love; we have all sinned. I get it. I have lived with me my whole life. I have had a front row seat to my failures. I’ve been there when I did something that I am not proud of.”

That said, this whole “prone to love Him” thing, it’s about faith. Faith is not discovered in our feelings, it’s not determined by our surroundings, and it’s not controlled by our past. Faith is birthed in the discovery of our Fathers nature. And it’s always about a future and a hope. In fact, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” I would like to suggest that while it takes no faith to believe we are prone to wander, it takes great faith to believe we are prone to love Him.

Jesus told us that without faith, we can’t please God. It’s a leap of amazing faith to agree with our Father regarding our righteous nature when there is plenty of evidence to prove otherwise. And I’m convinced this is the “faith” that truly pleases Him.

You see, faith is the currency of Gods Kingdom and what we spend our faith on determines how we live. If I believe I am evil, then every bad thought confirms it. If I believe I am unholy, then every failure confirms it. If I believe I am unworthy, then instead of running to Love in the midst of temptation, or hardship, I hide. If I believe I am prone to wander simply because I have, then I have determined that my past is more powerful than Gods Love. If I believe I am prone to leave God because I feel like it, then my feelings might as well be my gospel.

I am on an amazing journey in which I am discovering the same thing my grandmother discovered. Because of Jesus life, death, and resurrection, I am no longer prone to wander. Just the opposite, I am prone to love Him! The moment I said yes to Jesus, my very nature underwent a radical transformation.

I am growing in my Fathers love. I am growing in faith. I am choosing to believe that what Jesus did at the cross was enough and in Him, well, I look good! I am choosing to see myself from my Fathers perspective and agree with Him. And every time I see myself from Dad’s perspective, I hear Dad say, “Son, you look even better than you feel!”

Dear church, I would like to suggest that we are holy by nature. Our DNA changed the moment we said yes to Jesus and we are now righteous. We are saints. Our heavenly Father sees us through the love of His Son as powerful, and with all His authority. He sees the goodness in our hearts. He sees the love that we have for others. He sees world changing generosity, mercy, grace, and kindness. He see’s spiritual giants who will transform the world with His love - if we would just take the leap of faith and agree with Him...