Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. Jud 1:21
If you long for victory, stop trying to keep yourself. Stop managing your performance, your appearance, your secret sins. Begin to keep yourself in the love of God. In His love you will find strength, power, and victory.
Knowing the love of God begins with understanding the relentless longing of God’s heart to find you. You are His priceless, lost coin (Luk 15:8-10). The love of God lays down His life for His friend. You are that friend (Joh 15:13). The love of God disciplines you as a son and still calls you beloved (Heb 12:6-7). You are that beloved son.
A priceless coin, a friend, a beloved son. This is who you are to God. Let these truths settle into your heart. Sit in the truth of who you are in Christ.
To keep yourself in the love of God, you must realize God Himself is Love. When I learn that He is in me and I am in Him, I’m now keeping myself in His love. We keep ourselves in the love of God through faith. While keeping ourselves in love the scripture also tells us to wait. To wait for God’s mercy that is coming, and mercy that is already here.
Mercy tells us God no longer punishes us for our sins. Punishment we deserve. Waiting for mercy means knowing God has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. This is what keeping yourself in the love of God looks like. In keeping we wait.
To wait is to pause. To stop. To sit in the moment. In this moment consider not what you think is true, but what Scripture tells you is true. Spiritual realities about you that are already accomplished in Christ.
We are already in the Love of God. We need only wake up to this eternal truth. Keeping yourself in the love of God is not another task on your to-do list. It is how we live an integrated life in union with Christ. A life filled with the fruit of His Spirit.
The Next Question.
– What does “keeping yourself in the love of God” look like for you today?
– Where are you still trying to fix instead of resting in what Christ has already done?
– What would change if you believed God pursues you the way He pursues that lost coin?