He Loved you
then
This lesson comes from: The whole entire series!
Summary: Although they painstakingly don’t admit it,
Inuyasha and Kagome love each other from the beginning. Inuyasha loved Kagome
even before he knew she could see the jewel shards. He loved her back before
she became a good archer. He loved her before she realized her full spiritual
power, which took a long time. Kagome
loved Inuyasha even though he was half demon. She didn’t ask him to become
human like Kikyo did. She loved him back before he had Tessaiga, back when he
only had his claws. She loved him while he was still in love with someone else.
She loved him during his moments of weakness. She loved him through his pride,
his recklessness, and his depravity. She even loved him when he pushed her away,
literally. She even loved him when he was in his full demon
state. They loved each other THEN, and they love each other now. The
relationship they have NOW started THEN.
Let
me tell you something that will change your life: God has always loved you. People know that God loves them, but they
have trouble believing it. There is this unspoken belief that God doesn’t love
them while they are being “bad.” Although they know in their heads the words
that God’s love is unconditional, for some reason they forget what that means.
They think that God turns His love for them off and on depending on where they
are in their walk. They must clean their lives up and be “good” and then God
will love them. No one comes right out and says it, but this is how people
feel. I don’t know where this belief comes from, but sure isn’t the Bible.
Think
back to a dark time in your life. A time when you were at your weakest, like
when Inuyasha was poisoned by the spiderhead and was in his human form. A time
when nothing was going right and you didn’t know what you were going to do like
Miroku felt facing the demons at Mt Hakurae. A time when you were in pain, like
Sango when she was wounded by her brother. A time when you were disappointed
like when Kagura was denied her request for help. A time when you were betrayed
like how Kagome felt so often with Kikyo and Inuyasha. A time when you let your
guard down, like Inuyasha did over and over with Kikyo. A time when you were
disgraced like when Seshomaru was defeated in battle. A time when you lost
yourself like Kohaku did with Naraku. Think of that time in your life and know
that God loved you then. He didn’t abandon you in your trouble. In that dark
time the love of God still surrounded you and gave you the strength to break
through the dark.
Inuyasha’s
demon nature is like our sin nature, so now I want you to think about the worst
sin you ever committed. The dark secret sin that no one knows about. Maybe it
was recent, or maybe it was a long time ago before you were saved. Think about
what led you to that sin. Think about how you got to that point in your life.
Now think about the exact moment that you committed the act. Put yourself in
that moment again. I know it hurts. Now, listen to this: God loved you then.
When you were in the middle of your worst sin God was looking down at you from
heaven with love in His heart and probably some tears in His eyes. God did not
stop loving you because of your sin. He did not stop pursuing you. You did not
ruin His plans for you. Let yourself believe it. God still loves you despite
whatever it is you have done against him.
Think
back to when you were reckless like Inuyasha going after Naraku even though he
was injured and didn’t stand a chance. When you didn’t care to listen to the
voice of reason. When you let your emotions control you. When you ignored God’s
timing and God’s calling on your life. Think back to when you just wanted to do
your own thing your own way. When you just went around swinging your sword
leaving a trail of destruction wherever you went. And once you finally calmed
down you didn’t even know what you had done. God loved you even then. God did
not give up on you when you gave up on Him.
Now
I want you to think back to a time when you were in love with something else. I
want you to think back to a time when you allowed something else to be an idol
in your life. When you couldn’t care less what the real God thought. When you
pushed Him away as hard as you could. When you relentlessly pursued this other
love. When you tried to go back to the pleasures of your old life before you
surrendered to Jesus. Guess what? God loved you even then. Even when you
betrayed him. Even when you went back to your first love, God patiently waited
for your return to Him. He didn’t complain. He didn’t make your life miserable
even though He could have. He just waited for you to realize that those other
idols in your life, those other little g gods, those other loves, could never
love you back the way the God, who is love itself, could.
Now
to those of you who are leaders, think back to before you had that position.
Think back to before you even knew how to pray at all let alone pray in the
Spirit. Think back to when you had no spiritual weapons or power at all. To
before you had any idea what your spiritual gifts were. When you just lived an
ordinary life and never dreamed God had a purpose for you. When you felt like
you couldn’t do anything. When you felt like you were just a burden to the
actual leaders and actual prayer warriors. When you were just floundering
around trying to survive. When you felt like you wanted to give up and just go
back to your ordinary life and not have to deal with spiritual warfare. You
know what I am about say: God loved you then. He did not pass you by. He had
great plans for you then. He just needed to grow you into them. And as you grew
in your knowledge and power the spiritual warfare did not become easier, but
you can handle it now because you have learned to rely on the power of God
inside you. You can lead now that He has fully equipped you.
God
loved you at your worst. He loved you when you were dead in your sins and
didn’t even know it. He loved you when you intentionally ran from Him. He loved
you when you thought you weren’t good enough and when you thought you wouldn’t
amount to anything. He loved you when you gave into your fleshly desires, and
He even loved you when you tried to make deals with the demons. Understand that
you don’t have to get it all together before God can love you. It is His love
and His power that enables you to live a holy life in the first place. He won’t
love you anymore, but you will find more favor. There is nothing you could do
to change how much He loves you!
He loved you then, and you better
believe He loves you now.
Now
maybe you are reading all this and you don’t have to think back to a dark time
in your life. For you, the darkest time in your life is right now. You feel the
sting of sorrow right now. The pain keeps you up at night and that is the only
reason you are even reading this blog post. And even now after reading
everything I have to say, you still believe the lie in your heart that the God
in Heaven loves everyone on this earth except you. Everyone belongs here except
you. God has a purpose for everyone except you. God can forgive everyone and
everything except you and what you did. Listen to me, precious reader, you’re
not that special. You don’t have any defining qualities that exempt you from
God’s love. You have not done anything worse than anyone else in the history of
mankind. The blood of Jesus covers it all. The blood of Jesus takes it all.
When John said, “For God so loved the world,” he was taking about you too. God
does love you, and there is nothing you can do about it. Whether you like it or
not. Whether you believe it or not.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, it that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NASB
Disciple, Invisible, “Cuz nothing you
have done could change how much I love you.”
Disciple, after the World, “I’m the
one that you’ve been looking for. I’m the one that you’ve been waiting for.”
Disciple, Scarlet, “Though my sins
they be as scarlet, Though my hands have been an enemy of God, Though my heart
has played the harlot.”
