Undeserved part 1
I think it's important that we take some time to focus on the pure and simple fact--the TRUTH--that, when we're talking about love (which means we're talking about God) "deserve has nothing to do with it." We don't have to do ANYTHING to EARN anything. That's the trap that religion has set. That's the lie that the serpent hissed in Eve's ear. "IF you eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil THEN you'll be like God." Lie. Because man was already created in the image of God. We were already like Him. And we didn't--we don't--have to DO anything. It's not about what WE do, it's about what JESUS did on the cross. Because what Jesus did on the cross was He SHOWED us who we really are. He showed us the Father. He showed us the unconditional love relationship between Creator and creation. Between Father and Son. And the best picture I can find of what I'm trying to say is in Mark 1:10-11. Jesus is baptized. "And straightaway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Now catch this, the baptism... and the words of confirmation... came BEFORE Jesus started His earthly ministry, but AFTER the Holy Spirit descended on Him. BEFORE He did anything worthy of earning His Father's love, but AFTER He received the love receptor. At that point God was declaring His love for His SON. Not for a priest, or a rabbi, or a pastor, or a minister. He wasn't giving confirmation to what Jesus had done. He was giving confirmation to WHO JESUS WAS. And that's why knowing and believing our true identity is so important. That's why understanding 1 John 4:17 is so vitally important. "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." And I always like to point out that THIS is the day of judgment, and WE are the one's doing the judging. Look at 1 Corinthians 6:3 (NLT), "Don't you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life." Remember when Jesus said, "Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). Jesus said, "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven," (Luke 6:37) right? But we need to understand that A. He was speaking under the Law, and B. He was showing us HOW to judge. He wasn't saying we shouldn't judge, just that we had to have the correct frame of reference TO judge. Judge righteous judgment. Judge the way HE judges. Boldness in the day of judgment because we are as He is. People don't always "deserve" mercy, and grace, and forgiveness, and love--according to the standards of this world. But while we are IN this world we are not OF this world. We don't judge by appearance. We don't give people what they deserve. We give people what we have been given. We receive it and release it. We receive it BY releasing it. We didn't get what we deserved, so we don't have to deal with other people on that level. We don't love to GET love. We love because we ARE loved. Because we are LOVE!