The following is an excerpt from Alignment of Authentic Love by D. Scott Cook. It’s a featured Speakeasy selection, and there are still limited review copies available for qualified reviewers.
A man inherited an estate from his late uncle. He had resented the uncle since he was young because his mother told him that the uncle was angry, argumentative, selfish, and stingy with his possessions. Though having never met, his mother told him all his life that he should have nothing to do with his uncle. As he grew, became an adult, and went out on his own, the uncle would send him notes, emails, and letters to try and develop a relationship. But the man did not believe that the uncle was trustworthy or sincere because his mother had warned him about how evil he was.
Years later, the man’s mother died. A few years after that, the uncle died. The uncle’s attorney called the man asking to meet with him about the late uncle’s estate. The attorney had known his uncle for thirty years and they had become friends. He described how wonderful and giving his uncle had been all his life and how much he loved his family. The only person he was unable to have a relationship with was his older sister, who blamed him for her failed marriage, poor health, and failing finances. The mother was an alcoholic, and each time the uncle tried to help, she would tell him, “You just want to control me, keep me from doing what I want to do, and ruin my life.” Over time, she was so angry by his attempts to help that she would not answer any of his emails, phone calls, or texts.
Eventually, the uncle put his estate into a trust for his nephew because he had no children of his own. He hoped that one day, when the boy grew up, they could develop a relationship and that he could share his estate with his nephew. The nephew sat in shock and amazement. He had listened to the resentments and lies of his mother, who suffered from alcoholism, rather than enjoying his uncle, who was a loving, caring, giving, and kind person. He had based his view of his uncle on a lie rather than experiencing a love relationship with him.
How many of us have been just like this man? We believed a lie due to our trauma, hurts, and disappointments and then distanced ourselves from Father God, who has always loved us.
Your inclusion in the love and fellowship of the Father, Son, and Spirit allows you to participate in the harmony and love they enjoy. The problem is that most people do not know it, believe it is too good to be true or misunderstand it. Like this man, they still believe a lie about Father God, from the traumas, hurts, and disappointments they have experienced, and the things others have told them. In their minds, He is still a G-O-D God who is “judgmental, critical and unapproachable.” Another problem is that they have never experienced a relationship with Him in Christ Jesus for themselves. Everything is hearsay or comes from their pain and hurt from the past or the fear of a relationship with Him today and what He might do to them in the future.
Participation with God in Christ is the gift of being a co-creator with the Father, Son, and Spirit, living life each moment with them, vitally and dynamically. As a child, you have every right and privilege that a king’s child would have. The question is: Will you acknowledge this is true, see yourself as included, and enjoy what is already yours at this moment?
Acknowledge that You’re Loved
When I counsel people, one of the key moments in the counseling process is when I look them in the eyes and say the following:
- “You are deeply loved by your Papa God.”
- “Papa God thinks of you more times in a day than there are sands on the seashore.”
- “You are everything Papa God ever wanted right now.”
- “Papa God adores you as you are.”
- “You are Papa God’s idea; He wouldn’t change a thing.”
- “You are a masterpiece and priceless to your Papa God.”
Rarely do they keep eye contact with me. Each statement goes against what they believe about God as a Father and what they believe about themselves. To them, God is not a loving and trustworthy Father. And they are not worthy of love, acceptance, and value. They have messed up too much. They must clean up their act. Because they will say, “You don’t know what I’ve done.” This springs from a performance mindset: “What I do is who I am, and God would never love the real me.”
Unfortunately, many people have never had a proper model of a good and kind father in their lives. The idea of a father is confused due to the suffering they went through at their father’s hand growing up. That is the one major mental and emotional block most people have. They do not have a healthy understanding or loving experience with a father or stepfather. God is seen from this perspective, and He is now like their father: unreliable, abusive, angry, withdrawn, selfish, rejecting, and will always let you down.
Fortunately, this is not who God is nor who you are. God is agape, and you are wonderful, loved, accepted unconditionally, and priceless to Him. It is the lies we believe that keep us in the prison of isolation from God emotionally. Would you be willing to acknowledge the truth about God and His love, acceptance, and value of you? That He has and will always love you unconditionally just because you are His child? No strings attached, no tasks to perform, no standard to live up to — just extreme grace loving in an extreme way.
About the Author
D. Scott Cook is an author, spiritual counselor, former senior pastor, and the founder and president of Abiding in Agape, a spiritual counseling service and teaching ministry dedicated to helping people escape the fear and control of legalistic religion, or anyone struggling with the trauma of the past, so they can enjoy inner rest and peace. Scott has over thirty years of experience in pastoral ministry, spiritual counseling, and business/professional coaching and training. He’s also taught in leadership seminars, professional training classes, churches, retreats, and conferences throughout the United States and other parts of the world. Check out his websites bfreefc.com and aiagape.com, and YouTube channel.
Alignment of Authentic Love on Amazon
Abiding in Agape Website
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