“Long ago the Lord said to Israel; ‘I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT)
It’s easy to love when things are going well, not so much when the bottom drops out. We tend to equate an easy life with being “loved” by God, but when times are hard, too often, we believe the Lord has withdrawn His love from us. Just so you know, that’s a lie, and you know the source of every lie, and it isn’God. God’s love is everlasting, which, like Him, has no beginning and no end.
God’s name isn’t “I was” or “I will be,” it’s “I AM!” It’s always present tense because He is always present in every moment of our life. He loves us when we’re good and when we’re not; when we’re happy and when we’re not; when circumstances are great and when they stink; He loves everyone the same and there’s never a moment He doesn’t love.
And I suspect you’re tempted to question His love when the diagnosis is cancer, or dementia, or heart issues, or when you’re in an accident or you lose everything in a fire, or __________ and you can fill in the blank. But that’s our emotions, it’s not the reality of God’s love.
And I can sense some of your hearts screaming: “But I sure don’t feel His love!” And I get it, but here’s the irony – love isn’t an emotion, it’s a decision, and God made the decision when He created us to love us. Emotions change like the weather and are often changed by circumstances, but God knows none of that, in the sense that His love for us is constant – it literally NEVER changes.
The people who never speak His name or make any effort to live right or allow Him to change their heart are loved just as much as me and you who have loved and followed Him for decades. We’re tempted to believe that when we deliberately sin God looks away and withdraws His love, but that’s a lie. In my heart I sense He leans in and listens more intently when we’re running away.
Think of the prodigal son as he was nearing home – did he expect his father to be on the porch watching for him, or running down the dusty path to wrap his arms around him? The Bible says the angels rejoice more when the straying one returns than for those of us who stay close to home and continue faithfully our assigned duties.
Does that hurt your feelings? Do you feel left out, like all your efforts to please Him are simply ignored? “Where’s His love for ME?” Sadly, we become the prodigal’s brother who gets angry for the way the Father responds to his wayward brother. “All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.”
I seriously doubt he had any friends, but if he did, everything the father had was his to use as he wanted. The older brother received his inheritance just as the younger brother did, but he chose to stay and work for his father, likely believing if he did, he would receive a greater reward.
As Jesus followers there is no greater reward than to be in the presence of the Father. All of our efforts to please Him are our ways of expressing our appreciation for being His son or daughter, not to get brownie points.
Where did the love go? It’s where it’s always been. In the heart of the Father.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 