I have loved you with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. – Jeremiah 31:3
1 John 4:16-19
16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
19 We love because He first loved us.
In the United States, 5-10% of children seen by primary care physicians are diagnosed with Failure to Thrive (FTT). What is Failure to Thrive? What does FTT entail? It’s a diagnosis given to children whose weight or rate of weight gain is significantly lower than their same-age and same-sex peers. These children appear noticeably smaller or shorter than others their age, showing slowed or halted physical growth and development. The root cause of FTT is often inadequate nutrition.
This concept also extends into the spiritual realm, with many children of the King experiencing a form of spiritual FTT. It often stems from inadequate spiritual nutrition and the application of biblical principles.
Our lives are shaped by our many small decisions and choices. While we cannot control what has already happened, we can only control how we respond. Many of us carry the burden of a troubled past, marked by fear and torment. Dwelling on this past comes at a significant cost, as it can severely affect our present and wreak havoc on our future.
When we reflect upon everything that has happened to us, we are faced with a choice. We can either embrace them as gifts from our loving Father God, opportunities to grow and become more like the Lord Jesus Christ, or we can view them as hindrances, detriments, and life-altering anchors that hold as fast. The latter perspective causes us to stall out and get trapped in a repeating, spiritual “failure to thrive” cycle.
The film “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” offers profound insight into the consequences of our choices: life or death. The Grail Knight asserts, “You must choose. But choose wisely. For as the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you.”
It’s about time we stopped opting for the false Grail.
We’re faced with a choice between love and peace or fear and torment. Unfortunately, we often let ourselves become consumed by fear and torment, allowing them to shape our identities. This is not what was intended for us. The Father never meant for His children to spend their lives in “the Temple of Doom.”
Jesus proclaimed for all time that He came to give us the gift of life, not just any life, but abundant life.
John 10:10 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
REFLECT & PRAY
What has happened that we can never take back. We will never get a “redo” of the past. But something better is now available, a present and future, in our Father God’s loving, comforting arms.
Father, how I wish I could package up my past and put it behind me once and for all. Encourage me to make better choices and to walk in the freedom of Your truth.
INSIGHT
In the place of tormenting thirst, the Lord Jesus Christ offers overflowing waters of the Spirit of the living God.
John 7:37-39
37 Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!
38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”
39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
For children, it all begins with the knowledge and experience of His tremendous and delightful love.
1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
The Father wants His children to live in an atmosphere of love and confidence, not dread and doom. We need not be apprehensive regarding either life or death, for we are being perfected in and through the Father’s love.
We have no reason to be anxious about our future because our sins were judged once and for all when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross.
We do not need to suffer dread or guilt for the past. From the very first, our relationship with the Father was one of love. It was not because we loved Him. Many of us were indifferent, in denial, or actively hostile to Him. But despite it all, He loved us.
Romans 5:8, 10
8 God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
The Father loved us when we were not part of His family but instead defiant and rebellious. When we were enemies, He sent Christ to die for us. Can you imagine what is in store for us now that we are His children?
1 John 4:18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
There’s absolutely no need to fear the Father. The more we experience His love, the more our love for Him grows in return. As our loving relationship with Him deepens, our fears gradually subside. Eventually, we will stop being apprehensive about what might happen. Why? Because our worst fears are often just illusions that will never happen. Understanding this is nothing more than a diabolical ploy, and stratagem is essential.
Fear is the antithesis of love. Paul equates servile, fawning fear to living in abject slavery. A significant amount of our personal torment stems from fear. When we let ourselves be consumed by anxiety over what might happen, we emotionally and spiritually torture ourselves.
But the Lord Jesus promised, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32).
The Lord Jesus Christ provides the ultimate freedom and lightness of being. It comes through our relationship with the Father and the Son.
John 14:6-7
6 I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
7 If you have known me, you will know my Father also.
Jeremiah 31:3 I have loved you with an everlasting love, and with unfailing love, I have drawn you to myself.
The future is in His hands. Humanity is on a collision course with the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has told us what will happen. Rather than fear, rejoice.
Revelation 22:20 He, who is the faithful witness to all these things, says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
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© Dr. H 2024
Dr H Reflections 