Faith In The City

I have started reading the Bible all the way through more times than I can count. Most of those attempts stopped somewhere in Genesis. So when I tell you I have read this part before and never seen it the way I am seeing it now, that is saying something. Adam and Eve ate the fruit they were told not to eat. The moment they did, they knew they were naked, and they hid. God comes looking for them and asks how they knew they were naked in the first place. They were hiding to cover themselves, which if you think about it, is the opposite of what we should do when we mess up. Hiding feels natural. Running toward God does not. But running toward him is what he is actually asking for. Here is the part that got me. God does not judge them for it. He does not chastise them or tell them how wrong they were. He asks one question, and then he makes coverings for them. The word for what he made is kethonet. Royal robes. He could have given them something basic. They had nothing to offer, no skill to make a covering themselves. They had been walking around enjoying the garden, not preparing for this. God did not make them earn it or figure it out. He gave them his best while they were standing there in the aftermath of their biggest mistake. That is what real love looks like. Not overlooking the sin. Responding to it with patience, abundance, and kindness instead of condemnation. This is exactly what 1 John 1:9 is telling us. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Faithful. Not occasionally generous. Faithful, every time we come to him honest about what we have done. He knew we would sin before we ever did. That is why he sent his son. Christ took the weight so we would not have to carry shame or guilt as a permanent address. We are free. And that freedom is not a free pass to keep doing the same thing. It is supposed to push us to live different, to walk in who he made us to be, knowing we are forgiven and chasing righteousness anyway. So if there is something in your head telling you that you are too far gone, that you have messed up too many times, that is not God talking. Let it go. Lean into him. Let him purify you from it. He already made your covering. He made it royal, not because you earned it, but because that is who he is. Take a minute today. Whatever it is you are carrying, forgive yourself for it. Ask God to forgive you. Forgive the people who wronged you too, because we cannot ask for grace we are not willing to extend. Then thank him. Thank him for the forgiveness, for making you his child, for the freedom you already have. Ask him for the courage to actually walk in it. Peace, Love and Joy always,Tanya / InfiniteFaithandFavor.com #InfiniteFaithandFavor #ComeAsYouAre #GraceNotGrind #ChristianWomen #FaithInAction

If you don't know where to start, start with love.That line has been on repeat in my head since this morning. A lot of us stand at the edge of faith wondering what we're supposed to do first, worried about getting it wrong, worried about some checklist we don't even know exists. The truth is simpler than all of that.My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. John 15:12. Jesus said a lot of things that carry weight, but this is the one that sums up everything else. If you're not sure where to begin, begin here.So what does loving the way he loved actually look like? I read something this morning called Love Compelled Him, and it broke it down in a way that finally made it click for me.Love compelled Jesus to give up his privileges. He could have done whatever he wanted with his power and his position. Instead he set his rights aside so we could be made right with God.Love compelled Jesus to prioritize people. The woman at the well. The man with leprosy. A Roman officer. A blind beggar. Peter's mother in law. A widow's son. A tax collector everyone else despised. The thief hanging next to him on the cross. He saw people instead of problems, every single time, no exceptions.Love compelled Jesus to serve. He washed his disciples' feet himself. He went after the people everyone else had given up on. He had compassion for the sick and the broken, and in the end he gave his own life for it.Love compelled Jesus to hold truth and grace together. He never picked one over the other. He was serious about God's word and just as serious about showing compassion to the people who needed it most.Here's where I had to think about it for myself for a minute. If love means prioritizing people, where does that leave me? Am I supposed to put everyone else first and forget myself in the process?The answer I came to is different than that. Jesus prioritized people, and he also walked away to pray by himself. He rested. He set boundaries when he needed to. Loving people well was never about emptying yourself out until there's nothing left to give. It's about loving yourself the right way so you actually have something real to offer. It's not you against everyone else competing for the same love. It never was that.So if you're wondering how to start, you don't need a theology degree and you don't need to have it all figured out first. Start with how you're loving the people in front of you right now. Are you patient with them. Are you kind. Are you generous and humble even when it's hard to be. Put yourself on that list too, because you matter just as much as the people you're trying to love well.This is the prayer I'm carrying today, and maybe it's yours too.Holy Spirit, thank you for helping me live this out. I want to prioritize others, serve the people around me, and share the love of Jesus with the people who need it first.That's the whole starting point. Love serves. Love gives grace. Love tells the truth. Start there, and let everything else build from it.Peace, Love and Joy always, TanyaInfiniteFaithandFavor.com