Loved, but not entitled....

My spiritual New Year's resolution- Know that I am loved, I am loved beyond anything I can ever imagine. However, even though I am loved, that should not bring with it a sense of entitlement to everything God gives.

I have always been slightly bothered by people who think they are entitled to certain things. I have been super blessed in my life. I am blessed to have the family that I have, the things that I have, the friends that I have, and the education I received. However, I know that I am not entitled to any of it. I know that I do not deserve all that my parents have given me just because I am their daughter, so I have tried really hard not to expect things and be extremely thankful for the things that I receive. Well, that is my goal anyway. I know at times, I too have that sense of entitlement to things. I think I should receive things or deserve things because.... well, I always have. But that is not true and that is not the mindset I should have.

I think this is the same with our Heavenly Father. He loves us more than we can imagine. He gives us His love and His grace and His forgiveness, but we have not done anything to deserve it. That is the beauty of being in a relationship with God. Something I have heard a million times, but have to continue to remind myself is that I cannot be in this relationship because of things I have done or will do, but it is completely because of what He already did, I just accepted it. I am a sinner and I mess up all the time. There is no way I deserve what He has given me. Without Him, I would just be in a downward spiral ending in eternal separation from Him. With Him, I can live knowing how blessed I am and that this life ends in Heaven with Him forever. That is what brings true joy.

When we remove the sense of entitlement, the realization of the blessings increases exponentially. Knowing that I am not entitled to His love, grace, and forgiveness, but He gives it anyway, reminds me of how incredibly loved and blessed I am.

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Today, I was encouraged by 1 Peter 1. I hope that you will read this whole chapter and soak up the goodness that God has for us.

1 Peter 1 (The Message translation)

^1-2I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!

A New Life

^3-5What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole.

^6-7I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

^8-9You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.

^10-12The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah's Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this!

A Future in God

^13-16So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy."

¹⁷You call out to God for help and he helps—he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living.

^18-21Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.

^22-25Now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God's living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That's why the prophet said,

The old life is a grass life,
its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers droop,
God's Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.

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Happy 2012, friends. Go through this year knowing that we are so loved by God, but not entitled to any of it. Therefore, we are blessed far beyond what we deserve. Knowing this, live in joy and have hope throughout whatever ups and downs this year may bring.