While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. --ROMANS 5:8
Expectations create conditional love. "I love you, but I'll love you more if."
Now I know what you're thinking. Shouldn't we expect the best out of one another? Shouldn't we encourage each other to strive for excellence and never settle for anything else? Absolutely. But it was Christ who taught us how to use expectations. Does He demand a lot? You better believe it. Does He expect much? Only our best. Does He have expectations? Just that we leave everything, deny all, and follow Him. The difference? Jesus' expectations were accompanied by forgiveness and acceptance.
Study attentively these words written by Paul: "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." When did He die for us? When we reached perfection? No. When we overcame all temptation? Hardly. When we mastered the Christian walk? Far from it. Christ died when we were still sinners. His sacrifice, then, was not dependent on our performance.
When we love with expectations, we say, "I love you. But I'll love you even more if.?" Christ's love had none of this. No strings, no expectations, no hidden agendas, no secrets. His love for us was, and is, up front and clear. "I love you," He says, "even if you let Me down. I love you in spite of your failures."
One step behind the expectations of Christ come His forgiveness and tenderness. Tumble off the tightrope of what our Master expects and you land safely in His net of tolerance.
SPREAD THE WORD THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Alone, expectations can be bullets that kill; but buffered by acceptance and forgiveness, they can bring out the best in us and those around us.
Max Lucado Products Books, Music, Videos up to 30% Off!
http://freedomonline.spreadtheword.com/
store/SearchAllSimpleNEW/asp
/strSearch/Max%20Lucado
Earn Income! Fund Ministry! Answer God's Calling!
Lincolnshire shuttle from Midway .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareThe Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.... Read More
But my God shall supply all your need according to... Read More
Matthew 2:1-12The Visit of the Wise Men1 Now after Jesus... Read More
We, the human species, stand on the threshold of a... Read More
Actually I have 'helped' exorcize spirits more than once but... Read More
When I first heard Donnie McClurkin's song, "We Fall Down... Read More
Taco Bell, the Mexican fast-food franchise, has a new ad... Read More
To many people in the Western world Metaphysical Healing is... Read More
Before Donna was born she took with her a dollar,... Read More
Excerpt from The Journey That Never Was: a guide to... Read More
Saturday I was hangin' ten on my Dell when I... Read More
You're looking at one star in the middle of a... Read More
Almost every spiritual and religious teaching exhorts its followers to... Read More
The Bible tells us that we must be led by... Read More
Symbols and symbolism are popular in almost every civilisation, culture... Read More
What does it mean to be comfortable in your own... Read More
Forget what you have read or seen about vampires. The... Read More
There's a lot of talk about angels these days. They're... Read More
Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the... Read More
Five verses specify that we are to live by faith.... Read More
Just for a moment think of what is stopping you... Read More
You can think of your Animal Totems as imaginary guides... Read More
I know eyebrows are probably raising about now, but let... Read More
1. Raphael means "God heals." Raphael heals physical, emotional and... Read More
"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the... Read More
Algonquin limo Chicago ..Every month I usually sit down and write an article... Read More
One of the "loopholes" in my philosophical belief system when... Read More
The word "gravity" is a word coined by Sir Isaac... Read More
The Kundalini is a pool of energy that lies dormant... Read More
Were you lied to as newborn Christian? I was...let me... Read More
It seems to me that our moment to moment relationship... Read More
It was said that Caesar Augustus one night consulted his... Read More
The following fragment was found in Qumran along with the... Read More
Have you ever wondered which Angel governs your sign? And... Read More
There are no better people to be around than those... Read More
Paul is led up a 512 ft. hill, Mars Hill,... Read More
I want to share with you something that happened to... Read More
Have you ever thought about how your orientation to time... Read More
WHAT IS E.V.P.?EVP stands for electronic voice phenomena, some believe... Read More
Recently I was watching a re-run of "Everybody Loves Raymond".... Read More
As Christian's we are often very independent. We try to... Read More
Have you heard the saying that; You have a friend... Read More
"There must be a higher love/Without it life is wasted... Read More
Not going to church has the advantage of having free... Read More
Last week I talked about the need to practice emotional... Read More
Matthew 3:4-6 John Baptizes the People4 Now John wore a... Read More
Matthew 3:7-10 John Rebukes the Pharisees and Sadducees7 But when... Read More
On January 13th 1982 an Air Florida flight crashed off... Read More
One day Gilligan ventures off as usual into the jungle.... Read More
After 6 years, I left an abusive relationship with an... Read More
Spirituality |