I was trained to earn approval from my parents, teachers, and peers when I was small. Though they hadn’t asked me explicitly, I could always feel that I need to pay extra effort to earn my parents’ love, my teachers’ appreciation, and my friends’ recognition. That’s why I have a long struggle on Christianity’s very nature that I don’t need to do anything to obtain love from the Lord. We cannot earn His approval as He has already approved us. His acceptance is not because of how we have behaved or performed but our innate relationships with Him. “No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:39” In other words, I act or perform well because I love Him, but His love on me is irrelevant from what I have acted or performed.