Jonathan Steingard from the popular Christian rock band Hawk Nelson wants to remind Christians that God's love is freely given so people don't have to feel pressured to earn it.
In an interview with Breathe Cast, Jon shared his past and newfound relationship with Jesus Christ, which inspired the band's new album called Diamonds.
"I grew up in the church, going to youth group I'm a pastor's kid and so obviously for any one who grew up like I did, you hear a lot of stuff about Jesus like I did and everything you hear is from other people, and human beings we're flawed," he said.
And while he feels blessed to have grown up in a loving Christian environment, Jon said that there were a lot of things he had to "relearn" once he got older.
He admits there have been times in his past when he felt guilt or shame because of his sins. He felt like he was not good enough for God, and he was not doing well enough.
"'You got to do better for Jesus' - I remember hearing those sorts of things and really the beginning of last year I had this moment where I realised that God has already made the way and has already paid for us to live a life of freedom," he explained. "What if we just embraced the fact that God's love is unconditional and we don't have to earn it and what does that mean when we walk out the door, each moment?"
This is exactly the message of their hit song "Drops in the Ocean." Jon said that God's love is for the people and not against them, and he wished that he had realised this earlier because one of the biggest challenges he faced in life was "figuring out what does my relationship with God really look like."
