To Whom Does God's Love Belong?

 

“But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.”

—Psalm 103:17-18

A recent email I received began with these words: “In this blog of yours, you constantly talk about God’s love. But, to whom does God’s love belong?”

As I pondered how to best answer this sincere question, I quickly recognized that none of us deserve God’s love. There is absolutely nothing within us that would enable us to lay claim to God’s love. We are all sinful, disobedient human creations of the Most High God. Based on our own merit, we have nothing to offer Him that has any value or that would commend us to worthily receive God’s love.

Next, I recognized that despite the truth of the above statement, God does love us with His everlasting love. In fact, He loves us so much that He was willing to send His one and only Son, Jesus, to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

King David does a good job of summarizing the reality of God’s love for us in these words found in Psalm 103:17-18:

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

The biblical use of the word “fear” means “intense and unwavering respect.” God does not want us to be afraid of Him, as we might be afraid of a giant grizzly bear stalking us in our tiny canvas pup tent. No, He wants us to recognize Who He is and that He is the powerful creator of the universe. He wants us to acknowledge that He alone is God. He wants us to praise Him for the loving way He uses His mighty power for the good of those He loves.

So, while we do not deserve God’s love, the miracle of His mercy and grace is that He loves us with an intensity that we simply cannot comprehend.

If you think about someone you truly love, that dear one only knows what you have chosen to reveal about yourself. But, God knows everything about us. Nothing concerning us is hidden from Him. In spite of this intimate knowledge of who we are, God still loves us with a love that passes all understanding.

Let us rejoice this new day that God does, indeed, love us. And, let us allow His love to flow through us and touch the world around us in a life-transforming way.

 

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