Monday, January 24, 2011

God Don't Make No Trash

Lately I'm noticing a big gulf between how I pray and some of the prayers and worship I hear others sharing. I don't think I've ever begged God for His mercy or declared myself unworthy of His love and forgiveness. I know that I am lost without God but I don't feel the need to self-flagellate or grovel at His feet. Not because I think myself better than that, but because I believe God is above that.

As a mother, I cannot imagine my child relating to me in this manner. I want my children to feel loved unconditionally; never to consider themselves unworthy. I believe in a Father who loves me beyond measure, who would give His life for me because He values me that much. If I met a child who felt compelled to sit at her father's feet proclaiming how worthless she was, that she didn't deserve his love, I'd have to conclude that she had suffered some severe psychological abuse or neglect.

Do we really need to build God up by tearing ourselves down? Does my self-loathing gratify God? How could it? I am God's beautiful creation; I belong to Him and I am part of His family. He deemed me worthy when He called me into existence. I am not perfect but I can kneel before God with respect and humilty without presenting myself as wretched, worthless trash.

Do I deserve God's love and forgiveness? You bet. But not because I did something to merit His favour; because I am something that merits it. I am His.

6 comments:

Pippi said...

I'm not sure about deserving it. It's just a gift that He gives us, at His choice and not ours. I do believe that we don't deserve anything from Him. But because He created us and chooses to take responsibility for us, we receive it. Cowering and begging will have no effect on the outcome in my opinion. But I can't say I deserve anything.

Michelle said...

Thanks Pippi!

I struggled with the word deserve because I don't think we can do anything to EARN God's love, but I use it to say that all children of God can, and should, expect love from Him. I believe that is God's nature -to love.

I think it's like how a baby deserves to be loved even though he didn't DO anything to deserve it. They deserve love because to deny it would be an act of neglect.

I don't think God can choose not to love any more than a mother can choose not to love her baby -it would mean something was broken inside her. It goes against her nature.

Pippi said...

I agree. I guess the only difference is that a parent does not have the right to neglect the responsibility that God gave them when he bestowed a child upon them. As the Creator, God would be within His rights to neglect us, should He so choose. I don't believe that He does, however.

BrianM said...

Our relationship with our own children is the best theology book on the planet!

Russell CJ Duffy said...

If the God you believe in is anything like me or any half decent father then His love comes without the need for guilt, self flagelation or needing to be deserved. It comes from the core of being. It is given freely and without conditons. Any father worth his salt simply loves his children unreservedly even if they are not always as good as they should be.

Michelle said...

Amen to that Russell!