You’ve heard me suggest focusing on loving well instead of sinning less. When you’re loving well, you quite literally cannot sin.

I relate to Paul in so many ways, and I’m grateful God chose to expose Paul’s struggles. I’m thankful Paul demonstrated authenticity when begging God to remove the thorn from his side, and lamenting that, “the things he does not wish to do he keeps doing”. He describes himself as “chief of sinners”, and as a “wretched man”.

But he goes on: His grace is sufficient for me. His strength is made perfect in my weakness.

Grace. Receiving what you did not deserve. Salvation. Love. Joy. Breath.

I’ve heard some argue regarding pre-destination v. free will. I’ve heard “once saved, always saved” as the counter argument that you can lose your salvation. I’ve heard some state that if you fall, you were never saved in the first place. Hogwash. I see little value in the arguments.

the Bible says that His grace is sufficient and that His mercies are new every morning. It says He goes before, behind, and beside us. It says Our Lord is omnipresent.

Omnipresent: He is everywhere, always.

So, God is in every moment of time. He sees our futures, He knows the end game, It is finished. ALL has already happened, we’re just waiting for this thing we call “time” to pass so we can see it too.

He’s already there, in every moment of time. He’s seen what you’ve done, He sees what you’re doing, and He sees what you’ll become. And despite this, HE STILL THOUGHT YOU WERE A GOOD IDEA. He still has purpose for you. He still loves you and always will.

In any given moment, you may be riding a spiritual high, a guilt-ridden low, or something stagnant in the middle. In the lows, you beat yourself up and struggle knowing you “should” expect better from yourself, you “should” BE better. But think about it. He’s present in your glory days and your struggle days at the exact same time. He can see both. Always.

Difference is: He promised not to see the sin, as it’s now covered in the sacrifice of Christ. Jesus has made His home inside you. Our Father looks at us and sees purity, our purity, in Christ.

To summarize: Sure, sin is to be avoided, and we can do so more easily when we focus on loving well. But as we struggle, know that the shame and pressure we cast on ourselves is unnecessary once we place our faith in Jesus. We could be ministering to thousands and experiencing His fullness of joy, or we could have just messed up pretty badly. What He sees is the same. All we’ve ever done is in His present. He simply chooses, promises, to see only the good. He’s done what He said, casting our sin as far as the east is from the west, relegating our sin to our temporary flesh. It is “no longer me” but my separated sin nature acting a fool.

Be the good. Live in the present. And when you’re down because you know something could have been handled better, remember: He sees all of your good right along side this “bad”. He simply chooses to focus on the good.

Let’s reflect Jesus today and focus on the good.