Day 2: Dare to dream: Begin and be in the love of God.

When I became a Christian in my 40s, I remember being particularly impacted by this passage in Luke about Jesus speaking with the thief who was crucified next to him. Even in the midst of his terrible suffering on the cross, Jesus heard the voice of this criminal. At that moment of impending death for both of them, the thief called out, and Jesus responded, offering forgiveness, mercy, and even hope. What love Jesus had for that man, even in the midst of his darkest pain.

That story helped me believe that my voice, too, would be heard. No voice is too quiet, too sinful, or too late to be heard by God. God will always respond with love and forgiveness. I truly believe that without God’s love underpinning my identity, I would not have been able to offer anything to the hurting people I have worked with over the years. Knowing that I’m forgiven enables me to get alongside people who need God to take away the pain in their own lives.

Our first call is to know God - to know his love for us and to live in the reality of his forgiveness. God loves more than anything to repair, mend, restore, and heal. But unless you know this in your own life, you cannot hope to serve or love others in the way God wants you to. When we stay rooted in his love, we can reach our full potential and be instrumental in others reaching theirs too.

If we try and operate out of our own resources, we will soon come to the end of them, but God’s resources are infinite. Be filled, every day, with the love of God in Jesus.

Reflect: Do you truly know, and live in, the forgiveness God has provided for you through Jesus? Have you let him take away all your shame and guilt? Do you live in the daily reality of his freedom? Take a moment to ensure you are rooted in his love.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for your love. Thank you for your daily mercies and your ever-available forgiveness. Help me to walk in them and to never forget that my security and meaning are all in you. That way, I can show others the love you have shown me.