If you’ve ever been to a church you’ve probably seen them – the High Performance Christians. They’re running around looking very busy in hopes that someone may notice, especially the Pastor. They are quick to tell you what committee they are on and what area of ministry they oversee.

They sign up for every class, event and opportunity to volunteer. They have their bible highlighted with lots of handwritten notes along the side of the scriptures. And they sit right up front and are the first to speak to the Pastor after the service ends.

They even update their Facebook status so everyone knows that the Pastor sat at their table at the restaurant after service.

Even those who serve the church behind the scenes and are not seeking attention are still tempted to “perform” for God. They think that if they read their bible enough, pray enough and do enough bible studies that God will love them more. But the truth is that God loves us no matter how we “perform” for Him.

If we don’t pray a certain number of hours each week or we don’t read  our bible every day, He still loves us. His love for us is not based on how good a Christian we are. He simply loves us. There is nothing we can do to make him love us more and nothing we can do to make Him love us less. He just loves us.

Let that thought sink in……He simply loves you. You do not have to live in fear of losing His love if you do something wrong. And you do not have to live under the pressure to “perform” to make Him love you more.

In the same sense we are to love others no matter how well they “perform” for us. (Mark 12:30-31).

People will let us down – they’ll disappoint us. But we are to love them no matter what just as God loves us no matter what.

As Christmas approaches, think of someone you need to love even though they have not performed to your expectations and ask God to give you the strength to love them just as He loves you.