Love and Approval

God loves us. A simple phrase that most Christians would readily agree with. I’m not denying it’s true. God does love people. The Bible tells us that he loved us enough to send his son for us. The problem arises when we begin to confuse love and approval. Just because God loves us does not mean he approves of what we do. I see this more and more reflected in my life with my children. I love them. Their hugs and kisses are worth more than gold to me. I love them even when they mess up and do wrong things. My love for them doesn’t change. However, just because I love them does not mean I approve of everything they choose to do. When my daughter lies to me, it cuts deep. I still love her, but I don’t approve.

I think we sometimes need to examine ourselves very closely. We get so comfortable in God’s love that we fail to realize that there are things that we’ve allowed into our lives that don’t please him. He still loves, but he isn’t pleased. Are we willing to be open enough with God that he can begin to point these things out to us? I hope so, because more than anything I want us all to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.”