More than a victory

One thing many Americans are crazy about is sports. Practically everyone you meet has affection for some team or another. Pittsburgh Steelers, Montreal Canadiens, New York Yankees, Texas Longhorns, or even teams as informal as neighborhood kids that choose sides in a backyard baseball game... everyone has a favorite. Because Americans are so attached to their favorite teams, and because no team wins 100% of its games, people are constantly feeling defeat. They know what it's like to watch the clock tick down to zero and see the opponents cheering and smiling because they've won.

What's amazing about being a child of God is that we will never know this feeling again after we have passed on. Romans 8:37 (NLT) says, "Overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us." This victory is far greater than winning a game. Because of Christ, we will have victory over death and sin. We will emerge victorious with our savior, and we will be on the winning side of a very one-sided spritual battle.

Remember this next time you feel defeated; very shortly, you will share in ultimate victory with the Lord.

Unconditional love

As humans, we've been trained to believe that love is conditional. A parent's love for their child is too often dependent on performance. In a romantic relationship, if you have a major screwup, odds are you won't be able to repair the damage you caused. Because we're human and there is sin in our world, we find ourselves constantly striving to be perfect for other people, not meeting that standard and then being rejected.

The good news is that the only one who really matters - our Holy Father in Heaven who provides our salvation - does not withhold his love based on things we do or don't do. Every time we screw up, we can humbly come to him for forgiveness and start anew with a clean slate. Romans 5:1 describes it similarly in this way: "Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." Because of our faith in Jesus' role as the ultimate sacrifice, we are forgiven. Our relationship is God with is repaired. The only condition there is on this sort of love is that we accept that love with gratefulness!