Its not about performance

This is a deviation from my usual perplexities of Asher but I was reminded of something incredible this morning that I wanted to write about. The "Our Journey" question of the day (well the day I'm currently on anyway) is:
"How have I been performance-based in my acceptance of God's love?"

I was reminded of a vivid memory from my freshman year in college. In my Accounting I class, of all places, my professor told us something that blew me away.

I had grown up hearing the Gospel message every week at church and living in a Christian home, but I never knew, until my freshman year at Wheaton, that "There is nothing I can do to make God love me more and nothing I can do to make Him love me less."

Wow! Growing up in a performance-based family, and church to some extent, this seemed like heresy! I didn't really think I heard her right when she said that. Surely, if I just spent more time in prayer or sang at the nursing homes a few more times, God would love me more. That's the goal of life, right? OR if I never read one more word in my Bible and saw every sleazy movie ever made, He would withdraw some of His love from me, right?

It is simply beyond comprehension that God loves me right now, and even there in Blanchard Hall, with an amazing fullness of love that will never grow or decrease because His love is already complete.

"Before the world was made, God looked into the future and chose to set His love upon (me). He says to every one of His children, 'I have called you by name, you are mine.'" Isaiah 43:1