You Can't Earn God's Love

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You can watch, listen to, or read this devotional content from Andrew. To watch, simply play the video. Or if you'd prefer, you can press the play button below to hear the same content as audio-only. The written transcript is provided below.

Video Transcript:

Have you ever heard the saying, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch?” You’ve probably also heard someone say, “God loves us freely.” But… we live in a world where it seems like nothing is free, and respect doesn't come easy. It might be really hard to believe that you don’t need to do anything to earn God’s love. That’s deep in the hearts of people. We want to earn stuff! We want it to be ‘to our credit,’ right? It might almost seem like, instinctual, to try to work hard for God, thinking somewhere in the back of your mind that “He will love me more if I work harder. He has to—if you muster up more faith, do more good deeds, or pray a prettier prayer—right? A more complete prayer. Some of us might slip into this pattern of thinking very easily. It’s easy to think this way. Before we know it, we can feel like if we don't work hard enough, God might not love us at all. But you know what? That is not what God is like.

Listen to this truth from Ephesians 2:8–9. This is what He’s like…

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it’s not from works, so that no one can boast.

Here’s the honest truth—God loves you right now, just as you are. It’s not because of anything you do or have done. It’s because you are covered by the grace of God. Grace covered you like a blanket, completely enveloping you, the moment you accepted Jesus. He paid the debt for all of the wrongs. He replaced all your wrongness with His rightness. And in God's eyes, you are new, clean, and clothed with Jesus' perfection. And He loves you the same way He loves His own Son. He loves you as He loved Jesus. And that means He couldn't possibly love you any more than He already does—like He does right now. And you already have everything that you can get from God’s love. It’s all there for you.

You are completely loved. You are completely accepted. You belong to Him, by grace alone, and not by your works.

Can I say that too many times? It’s a fact!

Now, let’s pray and confirm it in our hearts and minds before the Lord. Let’s pray, and ask the Lord to cement these truths deep in our heart:

Lord, we come together and we ask You, help us remember that there’s nothing we can do to earn Your love. There’s nothing I can do to deserve Your love. Your love is not a transaction like a trade, but I am loved by You with fullness, with incredible, maximum love. And I receive it now. Your gift—it’s a beautiful gift, and I receive it now. In Jesus’s name. Amen. Amen!

God’s love is yours by grace alone.