Fully loved, completely broken

We are fully loved and completely broken at the same time. How do we function when these both exist within the same person - i.e. us? 

This can only happen if we are in Christ and recognize:

• God fully knows us as we are, warts and all -- there are no secrets or surprises for him about us even if and when there are for us. 
• Because of Christ, He completely receives and embraces us with full knowledge of all our brokenness. 
• Our brokenness always produces broken actions and outcomes. 
• God ¹usually does not spare us from the consequences of our broken choices but uses them to humble, instruct and advance us i.e. make us more like Jesus.
• He always hurts when we are hurting i.e. ²he feels pain when we go through pain from our broken choices, he does not condemn us for them. 
• God redeems and uses everything for his glory; both the actions and the consequences.
• God always sees and focuses on us as his image bearers, with the potential he has created us for, not on our weaknesses and failures. He addresses our shortcomings only in so far as they hinder our potential to better glorify him and enjoy him forever.
• He is always sad for us -- vs mad at us -- when we fail and always rejoices when we succeed. 

God always loves us, is always with us, always applauds our successes, always offers comfort in our failures and always uses all things --  good, bad and ugly -- to advance us so we might bring him greater honor and enjoy him more fully.

How can all these be true when we are such a mess? God's ³love, wisdom, power, and commitment to our advancement are not based on what we do but on who we are as His image bearers and who he is as demonstrated in what he already did in and through Christ. Now He simply works with us to increase our capacity to experience, enjoy, honor and display Him more fully. We are 

For a discussion on suffering at the hands of others choices click here.

______________________________________________________________

¹In God's mercy, he sometimes spares us from suffering the full consequences of our poor choices because he, in his infinite and perfect wisdom knows (not us) what will best advance our relationship with him.  Most of the time that means we will suffer the full consequences, but not always or automatically. Unlike our imperfect earthly fathers, God is our perfect heavenly father and always knows and does best when it comes to our discipline. 

²When it was appropriate for me to receive a spanking -- outdated and frowned upon today though not from ancient wisdom -- my dad would occasionally say, "this is going to hurt me more than it is you..." At the time I always use to think "sure it is Dad, sure..."  If you are a father you will understand the mixed emotions of disciplining your child. The difference with our heavenly father is there is never any uncertainty on the best way  to correct us.  He knows perfectly what we need most.

³I'm referring only to God's attitude of love and commitment to us not our experience of that love. Our experience of his love has everything to do with us. For further discussion on this click here.