The following is one of a series of short devotionals based on my book, “God’s Love For You.”
From the moment of your conception, even before your birth, God knew you, named you, saw you and loved you!
“Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:26)
Do you have a favourite “love song”? That question may sound overly sentimental to some, but bear with me for a moment! Can you think of the lyrics of a song about love that really moves you, which resonate deep in your soul? Now let me ask another question. If God were to sing or speak those words over you, how would it make you feel? You would probably feel pretty special, but consider this: all of the greatest love songs in the world put together, can not actually describe God’s love for you! The greatest lyrics and the feelings they evoke are just a hint of his love for you, which is a far greater and more powerful, sacrificial love.
God has loved us from the beginning of time and created us to live in a loving relationship with him for eternity. His love is a ‘forever love’. It is an eternal love, as Jeremiah 31:3 confirms:
“The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
The wonderful truth is that God will love you forever, no matter what you do or don’t do. His love is not reliant upon you or anything that you can do. It is not dependent on you attending church, praying or reading your Bible more. His love is dependent on him! His loving care is always the same, always consistent. There is nothing you can do to earn it and nothing you can do to stop him loving you. 1 John 4:8 tells us that “God is love”. This means that love is at the core of his being and everything that he does. He is the perfect example of true love without exception or restriction. His no-exception, no-restriction position has been unchanged throughout eternity:
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)
Perhaps there are people in your life who have let you down. Those whom you trusted and whom you love. Those who should have loved you, whether parents, friends, children, siblings or a spouse. Human love can disappoint and hurt us at times, but God’s love is different. He has promised never to leave us or abandon us. He has promised to love us always because it is his very nature to do so. This will never change, because, as he has said, “I, the LORD, do not change;” (Malachi 3:6)
From the moment of your conception, even before your birth, God knew you, named you, saw you and loved you. You are here because God created you and has a plan for you. There are no misfits or mistakes in this world! The everlasting God has called you by name and called you his beloved (Colossians 3:12), and in the greatest proclamation of his love, he sent his own Son to die in your place so that you can live in his loving presence for eternity.
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)
You are forever loved my friend! In the words of Ephesians 3:17-19, I pray that “you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Amen!
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