Not your typical Mother's Day blog
Brennan Manning, in the Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, so wonderfully writes this about the unconditional love of Christ:
His love is gratuitous in a way that defies our imagination. It is for this reason that we can proclaim with theological certainty in the power of the Word: God loves you as you are and not as you should be! Do you believe this? That God loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness, beyond fidelity and infidelity, that he loves you in the morning sun and the evening rain, that he loves you without caution, regret, boundary, limit or breaking point?
This quote from Brennan speaks volumes to my soul, as it so beautifully depicts the freedom of being found in Christ.
I remember the first time I read this quote - my mind wandered to how I could translate such wonderful truth to my children.
I wanted to bless them with:
• “Do you know who Jesus says you are?”
• “Do you know how much Jesus loves you?”
• “Do you know how much I adore you?”
So I gathered a list of Bible verses I could use to affirm my children’s identity in their Heavenly Father’s love. But today, in light of Mother’s Day, I want to share just a few of these verses with YOU!
Whether you are a mother or daughter, father or son, I hope you will read the verses below and receive a fresh dose of the Father’s love for you.
No doubt, I love being a mom with every piece of my being, but I am first and foremost a child of God. In Him alone my identity is found.
And in Him alone my hope is found.
*Not in whether I was a good enough mom today.
*Not in whether I was a kind enough wife last night.
*Not in whether we had a peaceful morning because my kids were kind to each other before school.
*And not in whether we had a very bad, no good, terrible morning because they treated each other like punching bags rather than fellow human beings.
When my hope is found in how I am performing as a mom or a wife, I need lots of affirmation. My actions scream, “Come on hubby, affirm me!” “Come on kids, show me you’re thankful for all I do for you!” I crave affirmation from blogs that tell me I'm a good mom even though the kind soul that wrote the blog has zero idea what kind of mom I actually am. And that affirmation is as fleeting as the attention span of my three year old.
But when my hope is found in nothing less than Jesus Christ, my righteousness, I find the peace my soul craves. So here ya go, fill up on His love for you and receive His peace!
He loves you just as you are!
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8)
You are fully known and fully loved!
And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. (Luke 12:7)
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! (Psalm 139:1-6)
You are a child of God!
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1)
He is for you!
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
He calls you friend!
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. (John 15:13-15)
He calls you beloved!
I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved. In the place where they yelled out, “You’re nobody!” they’re calling you “God’s living children.” (Romans 9:25)
So on Mother’s Day, but more importantly, on every other ordinary day, when the internal and external voices proclaim, “You’re not enough. You’re not measuring up. You should be more like this or you should be more like that,” remember this: the only One who gets to define you is Jesus, and he calls you “beloved.”
And before you go, spoil yourself and pop on over to Resurgence to read Elyse Fitzpatrick's raw and inspiring words on being His beloved! It will make your (Mother's) Day.
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