God’s love for each one of us is simply not based on what we do. It is not based on performance or who we should be. It is just based on who we are. That is truly Brennan Manning’s theme in all of his books, and his favorite saying was that “God loves us as we are, not as we ought to be”. I really like his quote in his book, “The Wisdom of Tenderness: What Happens When God’s Fierce Mercy Transforms Our Lives”. “In a moment of naked honesty, ask yourself, ‘Do I wholeheartedly trust that God likes me’…in this moment, right now, right here, with all my faults and weaknesses?’ If you answer without hesitation, ‘Oh yes, God does like me; in fact, He’s very fond of me.’ you’re living in the wisdom of accepted tenderness….The heart enveloped in the tenderness of God passes that tenderness around indiscriminately, making no distinction between the worthy and the unworthy.”