Unfailing Love
God's love is different than our love. The strength of His love is unimaginably greater than ours. God's love is "unfailing."
Before I made my first choice, God loved me with unfailing love. Before you uttered your first word, God loved you with UNFAILING love. His love is in perfect partnership with unfailing faithfulness, unfailing righteousness, and unfailing care. His perfect love doesn't depend on your performance. He isn't waiting to love you. He totally loves you, just like you are, no matter what you have done, right now. You don't need to build Him a better you to get His love.
Our response to this love, when we really encounter it, is obedience. Jesus said if we love Him we will obey Him. He deeply cares about obedience because of love. Like I care about my children's obedience. A good parent doesn't make rules to control their kids, they set boundaries to protect them from what harms, steals, and kills. My son Luke easily forgets that three bowls of popcorn and two cans of coke will leave him sick all night, but I remember, and my love makes a rule that he can't consume that much. When he sneaks in more food than he is supposed to, it hurts him. He is learning to agree with mom and dad about the food rule!
I want to agree with Jesus. I want to study every word He says. All of His words reflect His perfect love for me. He tells me not to be jealous, because He hates to see me get hurt. He tells me not to let myself be offended by others because He so zealously guards my heart. He tells me to be humble because He knows humility produces the sweetest fragrance of my heart.
God is so committed to human dignity, that He does not allow a violation of our free will.
Ultimately, we get what we spiritually want. If we want freedom from restraint, we can have it and all that comes with it. If we want agreement with unfailing love, we can get that, too, and all the joy, peace, success, meaning, fullness, and greatness that comes with it!
Psalm 36:5 Your unfailing love, O LORD , is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O LORD . 7 How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. 8 You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights.
Before I made my first choice, God loved me with unfailing love. Before you uttered your first word, God loved you with UNFAILING love. His love is in perfect partnership with unfailing faithfulness, unfailing righteousness, and unfailing care. His perfect love doesn't depend on your performance. He isn't waiting to love you. He totally loves you, just like you are, no matter what you have done, right now. You don't need to build Him a better you to get His love.
Our response to this love, when we really encounter it, is obedience. Jesus said if we love Him we will obey Him. He deeply cares about obedience because of love. Like I care about my children's obedience. A good parent doesn't make rules to control their kids, they set boundaries to protect them from what harms, steals, and kills. My son Luke easily forgets that three bowls of popcorn and two cans of coke will leave him sick all night, but I remember, and my love makes a rule that he can't consume that much. When he sneaks in more food than he is supposed to, it hurts him. He is learning to agree with mom and dad about the food rule!
I want to agree with Jesus. I want to study every word He says. All of His words reflect His perfect love for me. He tells me not to be jealous, because He hates to see me get hurt. He tells me not to let myself be offended by others because He so zealously guards my heart. He tells me to be humble because He knows humility produces the sweetest fragrance of my heart.
God is so committed to human dignity, that He does not allow a violation of our free will.
Ultimately, we get what we spiritually want. If we want freedom from restraint, we can have it and all that comes with it. If we want agreement with unfailing love, we can get that, too, and all the joy, peace, success, meaning, fullness, and greatness that comes with it!
Psalm 36:5 Your unfailing love, O LORD , is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O LORD . 7 How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. 8 You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights.
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