104 - The Steadfast Love of God

Romans 8:38-39 NASB

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 106:1 NASB

Praise the LORD!

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Lamentations 3:22-23

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

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In a world constantly changing, the steadfast, abiding, and everlasting love of God is an anchor for the soul. A foundation that nurtures true peace because of its enduring nature. A love holding us secure, that does not shift as the world shifts. The tides of how we feel are transcended by a truth; not an emotion, nor a whim of thought passing through our minds, but an unshakable reality; that we are never alone, that His love will never forsake us.

It is hard to imagine a love not derived from anything we have done, good or bad. God’s love does not depend on us, but is a manifestation of His character, for He Himself is love. His love is steadfast because He is steadfast, it is impossible for Him to be anything other than who He is. He is our perfect Heavenly Father, having knit us together in our mother’s womb, we are His children, and now in Christ, His adopted sons and daughters. His love for us is certain because He has brought us into an imperishable relationship, having been redeemed and reconciled back to Him, His eternal desire.

For God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son, not when we were holy and righteous, but sinners. Loving us even when we were lost and without Him, how much more now saved by His Sons sacrifice should we see His love as a constant? We looked in hope to His love when we came to Him for the salvation of our souls. Now, having been redeemed shouldn’t we see ourselves secure in His love for all time? He loved us at a time when we were without Him as a testament to the fact that no matter where we see ourselves, no matter our circumstances, in Him we can be assured to never be without His love.

God’s love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, His love never fails. Although we are called to love as God loves we often fall far short. But God’s love is not a reflection of our love. We may fall short, but God’s love never falls short. We come to know His love not by looking at how we love one another but by His word and what He tells us about Himself, by His faithfulness, and by all He has done on our behalf. In this world we’ve not come close to experiencing the kind of love that is from the Father, so sometimes it is hard for us to relate. We tend to see God’s love in light of the way we have experienced love in the world and assume His love to be the same. But no matter what we may feel, or what kind of love we have come to know, or what we see in this world, He is exactly who He says He is, unchanging, an everlasting love.  

God’s love defies the rules of this world and how we love one another, paying back for wrongs incurred, shunning, and rejecting, keeping record of wrongs, or only loving those that are lovable, these are not part of the makeup of His love. His love transcends this world so that we may see to transcend. To come to Him no matter what the world says, no matter what we may think or believe about ourselves, beyond any feelings of unworthiness. To believe in Him knowing that He is always there for us, that we are never separated from His love.