He has no favorite child

This weekend while reflecting upon what our Savior suffered for me I realized I had been living with the wrong focus. See, I am a rules gal. While as a teen I often liked to push the limits on the rules and even break them, I was legalistic about my religion. It wasn't until college that I began to loosen my grasp upon the moral code I thought should be followed and focus on my personal relationship with God (and thus began to give everyone else a bit of a break too).

However, I realized this weekend that I have still been holding on to a bit of that legalistic mindset. I know that I am forgiven by Him and that nothing I can do will save me. It is only by His blood that I can stand in front of Him complete one day. Regardless how often or how little I screw up, I need His grace to avoid death. This weekend, though, I realized that I have still been living to gain greater acceptance by God - like trying to become His favorite child. Instead of living my life out of appreciation and thankfulness for what He did for me (and continues to do), I have been living to get an "A" in the subjects of my life - wife, mother, daughter, friend, church member, etc. What faulty thinking and living! God has no favorite child. He won't love me any more or any less based on how I live. He loves me as I am. He loves you just as much. It doesn't mean I should stop trying to please Him, but it means my motivation changes. And God looks at the heart.

That was my Easter lesson. What did He say to you?