Freedom to Love

This is a section from Pastor Tullian Tchvidjian's book Surprised by Grace. If you have not read it, I highly recommend you pick it up. Reading it has helped me see how I need the gospel EVERY day, its not the first step we leave behind once we are saved, but is the medicine we need each and every day. The following section was one of my favorites, Tullian draws it out more, but this section is the crux. It has helped me in seeing how, as a believer, God's love for me should affect how I love and treat others.

In Jesus, we also have all the affection we long for. The gospel rescues us from the fear of not being loved as well as our fear of loving. The gospel tells us that God in Christ loved us a lot -- even while we hated him. Fully realizing this will pave the way for us to love others unconditionally as well. We realize and experience this liberating truth: "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." (1 John 3:16) This kind of lay-down-your-life love is the clearest indicator of a gospel centered life. But laying down your life is impossible. It's too scary -- unless you know you've been eternally loved by Christ. Then your free to give your life to others, because you've received so much yourself.