I love your line: "Peter’s denials were no surprise to Jesus. But it seems they were a surprise to Peter, himself."
The world (and Satan) constantly preaches to us that being loved depends on being perfect. So, in our desperation for love, we lie to ourselves about our perfections. Those lies of Satan teach us to lie to ourselves, and the deceit is deadly.
To love the worthy is no big deal. But to love the unworthy is the divine miracle of the Jesus who adores us.
Finally, there is someone we can come to "just as we are."
Sam, good to hear from you! Yes, it is so counterintuitive that we might be loved just as we are. It’s incredibly difficult to believe. And Satan is happy to encourage disbelief. The gospel is too good to be true! And yet, true. Glory.
And how do we develop enough self awareness to acknowledge our need? Like you say, that whole thing about lying to ourselves about our perfection. Something happened the other day and I thought, “You think you do everything right, so when someone gives you a bit of negative feedback about how they experienced your offering, you don’t want to believe their experience.” Oops! Oh dear. I try so hard! 😂😂 At least I’m laughing, right?
I love your line: "Peter’s denials were no surprise to Jesus. But it seems they were a surprise to Peter, himself."
The world (and Satan) constantly preaches to us that being loved depends on being perfect. So, in our desperation for love, we lie to ourselves about our perfections. Those lies of Satan teach us to lie to ourselves, and the deceit is deadly.
To love the worthy is no big deal. But to love the unworthy is the divine miracle of the Jesus who adores us.
Finally, there is someone we can come to "just as we are."
All we really need is need.
Thank you Karen, once again, thank you.
Sam, good to hear from you! Yes, it is so counterintuitive that we might be loved just as we are. It’s incredibly difficult to believe. And Satan is happy to encourage disbelief. The gospel is too good to be true! And yet, true. Glory.
And how do we develop enough self awareness to acknowledge our need? Like you say, that whole thing about lying to ourselves about our perfection. Something happened the other day and I thought, “You think you do everything right, so when someone gives you a bit of negative feedback about how they experienced your offering, you don’t want to believe their experience.” Oops! Oh dear. I try so hard! 😂😂 At least I’m laughing, right?
Blessing and laughter to you, today, Sam.