Loved So You Can Love: Freedom from Perfectionism and Striving with Angela Donadio

Do you ever feel like you have to earn God’s love, or that you’ll never be good enough no matter how much you do? In this episode on 1 John 3:1, we look at the love the Father has lavished on us through Jesus. We also talk about how resting in that love frees us from performance and lets us love others the way God does.

Description

Angela welcomes her friend Angela Donadio, a ministry leader, Bible teacher, award-winning author, and survivor of two near-death health crises. She co-leads River of Life church near Washington, DC, with her husband. She also founded the Communicators Collective Retreat and the Voice of the Voiceless.

Together they explore 1 John 3:1 and what it means to be called children of God. They look at why John wrote with such confidence in Jesus’ love, and why that love can’t be earned. Angela Donadio shares how years of perfectionism shaped her faith. Then, on a cold hospital table, she heard the Lord ask whether she could worship Him there, and that moment changed how she related to Him. Her message to anyone worn out from striving: stop trying to earn God’s love. Rest in it, then respond to it.

Episode Highlights

• Why 1, 2, and 3 John read more like sermons to the believers in Ephesus than letters, and why John insists that the love of God can’t be separated from Jesus.
• How the word “see” in 1 John 3:1 invites us to pause and take in the love the Father has lavished on us.
• The difference between being created in the image of God, which is true of every person, and becoming a child of God by surrendering your life to Jesus Christ.
• Why Christianity is unique among world religions: instead of people trying to reach God, God came to us through Jesus.
• How perfectionism and performance keep us stuck, build walls in our relationships, and turn the fruit of the Spirit into a to-do list.

Great Quotes

• “None of us deserve the love of God. It’s because of His mercy, not because of anything we’ve done.”
• “If we lose sight of being loved by God, I think it’s very hard to love like God.”
• “As I laid on that cold metal table, I heard the Lord say to me, ‘I know that you can worship Me on the platform. I want to know if you can worship Me here.'”
• “Stop striving for that love. Rest in it, and then respond to it.”
• “Because you are loved, you can love. So rest in that love and go love.”

Resources Mentioned

• 1 John 3:1 – The Father has lavished His love on us, so that we are called children of God.
• 1 John 4:18–19 – Perfect love drives out fear, and we love because He first loved us.
• Romans 12:1–2 – Offering our lives as living sacrifices in view of God’s mercy; one of Angela Donadio’s life verses.
• Angela’s website – angeladonadio.com, her one-stop shop for a free monthly download, Bible studies, and other resources.

Related Episodes 

• From Pit to Solid Ground: Freedom from Performance and Perfectionism – with Angie Baughman – Another testimony of finding freedom from striving to earn God’s approval.
• Rooted in God’s Love: How Ephesians 3:17–19 Shapes Your Everyday Worship – Going deeper into the vast love of Christ and how it shapes daily worship.
• Known and Loved: Remembering Who You Are in Christ with Elizabeth May Bennett – Remembering your identity as someone God fully knows and fully loves.
• Considering Others: How to Love Like Jesus in a Divided World – Practical ways to love others the way we have been loved.

Newsletter Invitation

If this conversation reminded you that you’re loved, period, keep that truth close by joining the Life as Worship newsletter. Once a month, on the second Wednesday, you’ll get a Scripture-rooted devotional, reflection questions to help you process and apply God’s Word, practical tools for living a life of worship every day, and occasional updates and resources to keep you grounded in God’s truth. Subscribe to the newsletter and get the FREE 10-Minute Thought Filter as a welcome gift: http://eepurl.com/h3Nafz