Excerpted from From Eternity to Here~Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God by Frank Viola, Chapter 7: Fallen Yet Cherished

“…run to the Lord when you sin, not from Him.

…He saw your mistakes before you ever made them.  So He’s not surprised by them.  Nor did they prevent Him from choosing you to be His before you penetrated the womb of your mother.  In fact, distancing yourself from the Lord due to a

guilt headache and a condemnation hangover

hurts Him far more than the sin that created those feelings.  (Ponder that last sentance for a moment.)…Hiding from the Lord is a

spiritually-transmitted disease. 

It’s in our bloodstream and the marrow of our bones.  It began with the first man who hid Himself from God in shame (Gen. 3.8-10).  But just as He did with Adam, God clothed your nakedness.  Not with skins of animals, but with the righteousness of His own Son.  For this reason, the Lord invites you to love Him despite your fallenness.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  (2 Corinthians 5.21 NASV

You can chisel it in stone: the Lord’s love is given to you without strings or conditions…your good works (or lack thereof) do not affect His love for you…God loves you simpley because He chose you in His Son and  He loves His Son without condition.

He loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31.3).

So take heart: you are some one that God so loves.  He has drawn you to Himself.  Whenever you turn to Him, you are ushered before the smiling face of a God whose heart beats with unfailing kindness. 

Are you overtaken with a sense of unworthiness?

Are you humbled with your own sinfulness?  Let me remind you.  When your  Lord hung on that bloody cross, He was in far worse condition than you or I could ever be in.  He was made to be sin (Isaiah 53.4, 2 Cor. 5.21)…the sins of the the worls – past, present, and future – were all laid upon Him, and He became sin personified.  And yet, the Father still loved Him.

All that to say, in the moment when you feel the most unworthy, you are the most welcome.

[Read: Hebrews 4.16; Ephesians 3.12; 1 John 1:9, 2:1-2; Revelation 12:10-11]

Consequently, if the “accuser of the brethern” accuses you or me of some sin, the Lord’s response is, ‘It’s too late!  I’ve already fallen in love with them.  It’s too late!  I’ve already graced them out of…my merciful nature.  It’s too late!  They are acquitted.  They are forgiven.  They are cleansed by My Son’s blood.’

This ought to move you.  This ought to impress you.  This ought to baffle and overwhelm you.

Oh, the unimaginable depth of the love of Christ.

What amazing love.  What flawless love.  What unshakeable love.  What irrevocable love.  This is the love with which your God loves you…”

When will I get it?…Jeanie