By Your grace that has so radically and eternally changed me and Your Holy Spirit within me, the cry of my regenerated heart through the otherwise impervious layers of sin and selfishness is that my inner man wants to love, and love like You love me the most unfathomable thought I could ever have.
Oh God, beyond my ponderings at heaven’s glory and wonder at the power of the forever sea is my ever-present humbling marvel at how You could can love me when You know my selfishness, sin, and un-Christlikeness. I live in grace because my constant failings are always before me, not in pessimism nor defeatism, but in the liberty and love of Your grace.
Let me love others with total disregard for myself. Let me see their failings and know even their assailing against me or my family, and let me love them like You do. Guard my heart and mind from the plethora of modern unbiblical ways that eschew the word sin and therefore the need to repent, but allow me to truly love as You and enjoy the restoration of relationship when repentance is present.
I choose love, gentleness, forgiveness, turning them over to You, rather than bitterness, sin, resentment. Thank You my Lord for even my desire to make that choice, for without You I would not and could not; although, in my sin I could easily cloak it in what You know to be self-righteousness.
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31).
