I have struggles. You have struggles. Somewhere along the way, many of us began believing that our struggles affect God’s love for us. We mistakenly think that when I am good, God loves me; when I make a mistake, God’s love for me is somehow less or maybe not at all. We are basically making God’s love a “box”. When we are good, we are in the box and when we mess up, we are no longer in the box of God’s love. Friends, we ought to see our relationship with God not as a box we are in or not in, but as a path and direction towards Him. We want our beliefs, actions, and lives to be on a path toward God. Often, we will trip or even fall, but we must quickly correct and continue on the path toward God. The lone concern in our journey is when we go off the path to the circus. The circus is when we have lost control and have no desire to leave a belief, behavior or lifestyle that is not honoring to God. Today, my counsel is simple: If you are at the circus, get help to leave and find the path toward God. If you are concerned whether or not you are in or outside of “God’s love box”, change the way you view God’s unconditional love for you. Finally, if you are on the path, keep going and trusting that you are not traveling alone. Your Heavenly Father is traveling with you in order to bring you safely home. Stay Close to Jesus. – Pastor Bryce
