What I Love About God

Want to know what I love about my God?  Lots of things, but I think the purest and best thing about God is that he tells us all to come as we are.

Not the nicest person on the block?  Come as you are. Living a life you never thought you would?  Come as you are.  Sick and in need of comfort? Come as you are. Emotionally unstable? Come as you are.  Hurt and lonely? Come as you are. Angry at God?  Come as you are.  Skeptical?  Come as you are.  Happy and content with your life?  Come as you are.

I believe that none of those ^ states of being scare God, or prevent us from coming into his presence. All he wants is for us to fall into his arms; without question we can rely on his love.  Whether we are in a good place in your life, or not, his arms are open and waiting.

A few times in my life I have stayed away from God because I was afraid.  I have been afraid of so many things that have led me to insulate myself, even from, or perhaps most especially from, my God.

I've was afraid I wouldn't measure up to the person next to me.  My life was too dirty to look at too deeply.  The surface was pretty clean, but don't dig too deep.  That's where the secrets lay.  Though I knew God could see beneath that surface, still I hid.

At other times, I was scared of giving up control of my life.  Things were cruising along pretty nicely, no need to bring God into the picture - he may challenge me to push myself out of my comfort zone. No need for any of that.

Still other times, I read scripture and I had questions about things that appeared to contradict each other in the text.  I was afraid to dig deeper, or to let God know I had these doubts.  I'm not sure what I thought would happen, but I knew I was afraid.

Two things have been constant in my life - fear, and the love of a God that conquers my fear.  I know that no matter what state I am in, God is with me, saying "My child, I love you, come as you are.  Don't clean yourself off first.  Don't figure out all the answers.  Don't worry about life's challenges; come as you are.  I will meet you as you are, where you are, and take you to a place you never dreamed you could go."

Yes.  That is what I love about my God.

~1 John 4:17-19New Century Version (NCV)
This is how love is made perfect in us: that we can be without fear on the day God judges us, because in this world we are like him.Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear, so love is not made perfect in the person who fears.

We love because God first loved us.