Living From the Love of God, Not For It
I used to think love was something I had to earn.
Maybe you’ve been there too—waking up every day with this quiet ache, a subtle striving buried beneath all your doing, hoping that maybe, just maybe, today would be the day you’d finally feel enough.
Enough for people.
Enough for purpose.
Enough for God.
But here’s the truth that undid me:
You were never meant to live for love. You were created to live from it.
Let that settle.
You don’t have to chase what’s been chasing you since the beginning.
You don’t have to strive for what’s already been spoken over you.
You don’t have to earn what was poured out long before you ever knew you needed it.
The Ache of Earning
I know the exhaustion of it.
I know what it feels like to serve from a place of empty, hoping that if I pour out enough, maybe God will pour something back in.
I know the weight of performing, not because you love the stage, but because somewhere along the way, you started believing you are the performance.
And if you stop, maybe they’ll stop loving you.
Or worse—maybe He will.
But that’s not love.
That’s fear wearing a mask.
And perfect love doesn’t entertain fear.
It casts it out.
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” —1 John 4:18
Torment.
That’s what it feels like, isn’t it?
This low-grade hum of anxiety beneath the surface of your life, wondering if you’re enough, if you’ll ever be enough, if maybe God loves you, but He’s secretly disappointed too.
I lived there longer than I’d like to admit.
But then Love came and flipped the script.
The Day Love Wrecked My Religion
You see, religion will convince you that love is a wage you earn.
But the Gospel?
The Gospel says it’s an inheritance you receive.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”—Romans 5:8
While we were still sinners.
Not after we got it right.
Not after we prayed the prayer, read the Bible in a year, or served in three ministries.
While.
Before you even knew to look for Him, He was looking at you—with eyes full of mercy, not measuring your failures but marking you with love.
Love didn’t wait for you to be lovable.
Love made you beloved.
Beloved Isn’t a Title. It’s the Truth.
When Jesus was baptized, before He preached a sermon, healed the sick, or raised the dead, heaven cracked open and the Father’s voice thundered:
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” —Matthew 3:17
Before the miracles.
Before the ministry.
Before the crowds.
The Father’s pleasure wasn’t rooted in what Jesus did—it was anchored in who Jesus was.
And here’s the part that wrecked me:
If you’re in Christ, that same voice speaks over you.
Not the watered-down version.
Not the knockoff, clearance-rack version.
The same love.
The same pleasure.
The same delight.
You’re not fighting for that identity.
You’re fighting to remember it.
Because the enemy can’t steal your belovedness—he can only convince you to forget it.
What Changes When You Live From Love?
When you stop striving for love and start living from it, everything shifts.
• You no longer serve to be seen.
You serve because you’re already seen by the One who knit you together in your mother’s womb.
• You no longer give to feel worthy.
You give because you’ve been given everything in Christ.
• You no longer worship hoping God will come closer.
You worship because He’s already as close as your breath—closer still.
• You no longer fear rejection.
Because how can you fear losing something that was never based on your performance to begin with?
When you live from love, failure doesn’t define you.
Success doesn’t inflate you.
And people’s opinions don’t own you.
You’re anchored.
You’re secure.
You’re free.
But What About When I Don’t Feel It?
Maybe you’re reading this thinking,
“That sounds nice, but I don’t feel loved. I don’t feel secure. I feel forgotten, overlooked, invisible.”
I get it.
I’ve been there—fists clenched in prayer, demanding that God prove His love because I didn’t feel it.
But here’s what He whispered in the silence:
“My love isn’t fragile enough to be defined by your feelings.”
Love isn’t a feeling.
It’s a fact.
A bloody, rugged, nail-pierced fact.
The cross is proof, whether your heart feels it today or not.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” —1 John 3:1
Did you catch that?
Lavished.
Not sprinkled.
Not rationed.
Lavished.
God’s love isn’t cautious.
It’s not calculated.
It’s reckless in the most beautiful way—wasteful even, poured out on people who could never deserve it, never repay it, and never exhaust it.
How Do You Live From This Love?
1. Stop Striving. Start Receiving.
You can’t earn what’s already yours.
Take a breath.
Loosen your grip.
Let go of the hustle to be enough and simply say,
“Father, I receive Your love today—not because I’ve earned it, but because You’ve given it.”
2. Remind Yourself Daily.
Write it on your mirror.
Tattoo it on your heart:
“I am the beloved of God. Nothing can change that.”
Because we forget.
Oh, how easily we forget.
3. Return When You Wander.
Because you will wander.
We all do.
But belovedness isn’t a place you lose—it’s a truth you return to.
Again.
And again.
And again.
A Final Thought for the Weary
Maybe you’re reading this with tears in your eyes because something deep inside you has been waiting for someone to say it:
You don’t have to earn His love.
You don’t have to perform for His approval.
You don’t have to beg for what’s already been given.
You are not a problem to be fixed.
You are a son.
You are a daughter.
You are beloved.
Not because of what you’ve done.
But because of who He is.
Because He is love.
So lay down the weight of earning.
Lay down the mask of perfection.
Lay down the lie that says you have to be more, do more, prove more.
And pick up the truth that’s been yours all along:
You are loved.
You are seen.
You are enough.
Not because you’ve climbed your way to God.
But because Love came down, wrapped Himself in flesh, stretched out His arms, and said,
“It is finished.”
The striving is finished.
The proving is finished.
The performance is finished.
All that’s left is love.
So breathe it in.
And live from it.
If you feel led to partner with what God is doing through this ministry, we invite you to sow into this work as the Spirit leads. Your generosity helps us continue to share His love and truth with others. There is no obligation only an opportunity to join in what God is building. Thank you for considering being a part of this journey.
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