
"It’s like Beauty and the Beast. As long as Beauty was repulsed by the Beast and treated the Beast like a Beast, the Beast remained a Beast. But when she could love him just as he was, in all his beastiness, the beauty that had been in him all along became apparent. She just loved the beastiness away, and as the beastiness fell away, the beauty that was there all along, inside all of the beastliness, came shining through.
That’s what God’s love does for us when we accept it. All of our beastiness begins to melt away, and the beauty that is in all of us comes shining through. Love begets love, so we are more likely to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves when we can accept the unconditional, gracious love of God. God’s law is then written on our hearts, and it shows in our behavior.
FULL SERMON HERE