Paul writes: ‘I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand…how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete’ (vv. 16-19 NLT). In spite of our best intentions, we still sin. As a result, we feel bad about ourselves. And Satan uses our feelings of guilt and condemnation to make us doubt God’s love for us. But if God loved you enough to send His Son to die on your behalf while you were a full-blown sinner, you can be sure He won’t change His mind about you when you’re His redeemed but struggling child. Feeling bad about sin is actually proof that you truly are God’s child. When you were born again, you became a regenerate spirit living in an unregenerate body. So when you permit sin to enter your life, your regenerate spirit rises up and says, ‘Get that out of here, it’s incompatible with who I am.’ It’s not that God doesn’t love you when you sin, but that sin is an unwelcome guest that makes you feel bad about yourself and robs you of confidence towards God. So if you have sinned, repent, receive God’s forgiveness, and move forwards stronger and wiser.
