Growing up in the South I always heard the phrase "warts and all" used when someone described another as well as the bad qualities in a person's character. When we say that it usually means that we accept everything about someone.
I'm glad that God loves us "warts and all". He doesn't just love the good things about us. He loves us totally. That's a good thing because I'm sure glad He does. None of us are perfect and there are things you and I have done we aren't proud of. I'm certainly not going to spend time in my blog to tell you my bad qualities or things I have done that might cause you to think negatively of me.
That's what we do. We present the best side of us to others. We want to be accepted and for people think that we are good people. If someone really loves you, they love everything about you not just the parts they like.
Some couples find that difficult.
Unfortunately many young couples fall in love with the looks and appeals of their partner but what happens when they grow old? What happens when they aren't as young as they were in the beginning. Life changes us. True love sees beyond the outward and past the things that aren't so appealing. The couples who make it realize that their love goes beyond the exterior and accepts everything about each other, not just the things they like the best.
I love the song "Never Been A Moment" performed by Micah Tyler which begins:
A little bit of both every single day
I've been lost, but somehow I've been found"
No matter how perfect we try to be, we are just going to have some of "those" days when we aren't on the top of our game. We will have days when we aren't as lovable and some days that we get on our own nerves. The one thing we should never forget is that on those days, God still loves us the same.
That thought makes me breathe a little easier.
I was brought up in a church that was strict on perfection and keeping lists of rules in order to please God. It was impossible to keep them so failure was a common feeling. A person could never enjoy the love of God without the cloud of disappointing Him when we couldn't follow all of the rules. One young preacher once said that we are supposed to perfect as God is perfect.
Say what now?
I don't know if anyone had a clue to this but we aren't God. There is no way we can be perfect. As humans, we are affected by many things such as physical pain, moods, attitudes and other factors. There is no way we can be perfect as God is perfect. We miss the totally enjoyment of who God is by trying to measure up to what religious people think the standards ought to be.
Sometimes we fall into the trap that we just aren't good enough and it's true. We aren't good enough but WE are enough. We are who we are. God still loves us. If there are things about us that need to improve, God will show us what those areas are. He's not waiting to hurl a lightning bolt at us when we screw up. He's more willing to give us a helping hand rather than to squish us with a gigantic fist.
There are many verses in the Bible about God's love for us. He doesn't just love us when we are lovable, He loves us just the same when we aren't. That's God. That's who He is. He's not this overbearing, demanding religious folks want you to think He is.
He's one that loves us warts and all.
