Everyone loves and wants to be loved. So often we start out with a quid pro quo type of thinking. This is the type of thinking that says “What have you done for me lately?” Moreover, it is usually void of any forgiveness.
This is the opposite of the love that God has for us. God wants our best and since He is the one that created us, He knows us better than we know ourselves.
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RELENTLESS LOVE
His Love Never Runs Out
“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. Deuteronomy 30:15-16 (NASB)
The song “One Thing Remains” by Jesus Culture has a line that is incredibly important to remember as they sing about God, “Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me”. What can love do in a person’s life? Melvin Newland tells the following story:
When Robert Browning came into her life, Elizabeth Barrett was a 39-year-old invalid. Daughter of a jealous & dominating father, her first 4 books of poetry had been published when she was just 12 years old. At 15 she injured her spine, & the resulting confinement in London affected her lungs, & she came to be regarded as a permanent invalid, doomed to spend her life in bed. But still she kept writing.
As time passed, the grief caused by the drowning of a brother, & her father’s refusal to allow any of his children to marry made her a recluse. Nearing 40, she seemed destined for a life of helplessness & gloom.
But the publication of one of her books brought about a correspondence with another poet, a man by the name of Robert Browning. He visited her, & then they wrote often to each other, with him encouraging her to try to get out of bed & make every effort to resume a normal life. But this met with strong resistance from her parents. And they resented Robert for even suggesting it.
They refused to allow him to visit her again, but the correspondence continued, & soon they were in love. Finally, more than a year later, she escaped the possessive vigilance of her father & they were secretly married. They immediately moved to Italy, & in that sunny climate it wasn’t long until she was strong & active once again.
Her parents disowned her, but she wrote almost every week, telling them that she loved them & longed for a reconciliation. After 10 years of writing to them, she received a huge box in the mail that contained all the letters she had ever sent. Not a one of them had been opened!
Although these “love letters” have now become a precious part of English literature, it’s sad to know that they were never read by her parents. Had they looked at just one, the broken relationship with their daughter might have been healed.
But no, they wouldn’t & they didn’t. We hear a story like that & we think, “Oh, what a pitiful story. What a pitiful thing for her parents to be like that.” You’re right. But let me ask you, “Is it possible that as far as God is concerned, that some of us are acting exactly the same way that her parents did?” How often has God made His love known to us?”
Today’s Prayer
Dear Lord,
There have been many times when I was blinded by my determination to get “things” accomplished! Please help me to know Your love and give me the courage to love others. You always want my best, but give me the freedom to choose less. Thank You for the reminder of how constant Your love is. In Jesus Name, Amen.
RENTLESS LOVE
Unconditional?
“The LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. “And you shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which I command you today. “Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; if you obey the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. Deuteronomy 30:7-10 (NASB)
Love is seen in our world today as acceptance. Acceptance of anything one chooses to do regardless of the morals used or lack thereof. The standard for right and wrong is no longer blurred; it has all but been erased! We now live in a world where what used to be right is wrong and what used to be wrong is becoming totally accepted. Moreover, if someone chooses not to accept today’s version of “right”, they are seen as haters.
When we consult the Bible, we get a much clearer picture of what love is, but hang on, it is not the typical understanding of today. We are told in I John 4:8 (NASB) that, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” He continues in verse 16 with “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” It is extremely easy to walk away with the idea that the love of God for us is unconditional and that we must unconditionally love everyone else, even what they do. However, you would be wrong!
God tells Israel in Deuteronomy 30:8-9 “And you shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which I command you today. “Then the LORD your God will prosper you …” Moreover, Jesus in comforting His disciples in John 14:15 says, “”If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” While the love is God is unconditional meaning He always wants the best for us, but He demands something from us. If we choose to disobey Him… If we choose to do it our way… there are consequences. God’s love, or at least His blessings on us is conditional.
It seems so simple when you think about it. Every design in life has a purpose. We build our houses to a certain standard because we expect them to be safe, secure, and last a lifetime. We were created to last an eternity. Instead of trying to change the standards by which we live, let us live by the standard by which we were created!
Today’s Prayer
Dear Lord,
I thank You for loving me. I can never stray so far as to escape your love. I also understand that every choice I make has consequences. Help me to live my life so that my consequences will always be your blessing! In Jesus Name, Amen.
RELENTLESS LOVE
Prone to Wander
“So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. “If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. “The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. Deuteronomy 30:1-5 (NASB)
It has been in our nature since the “Fall of Man” to wander away from God. It is clearly seen in the life of Israel, God’s chosen people. In times of adversity, they would cry out to God for salvation. In times of prosperity, they would have a false sense of security in material possessions instead of trusting the God from whom their blessings came. It is so obvious to see it happening in the Israelites as we read the Bible. It is even fairly easy to see it when it happens to my neighbor. However, it is incredibly hard to see it happening in me. Yet I know that it is my nature just as it was in Adam to trust in the creation rather than the Creator!
Kenneth W. Osbeck in 101 Hymn Stories tells the story behind a favorite hymn that deals with wandering away from God:
“Robert Robinson had been saved out of a tempestuous life of sin through George Whitfield’s ministry in England. Shortly after that, at the age of twenty-three, Robinson wrote the hymn Come, Thou Fount.
Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing, Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise.
Sadly, Robinson wandered far from those streams and, like the Prodigal Son, journeyed into the distant country of carnality. Until one day—he was traveling by stagecoach and sitting beside a young woman engrossed in her book. She ran across a verse she thought was beautiful and asked him what he thought of it.
Prone to wander— Lord, I feel it— Prone to leave the God I love.
Bursting into tears, Robinson said, “Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then.” Although greatly surprised, she reassured him that the “streams of mercy” mentioned in his song still flowed. Mr. Robinson was deeply touched. Turning his “wandering heart” to the Lord, he was restored to full fellowship.”
Moses reminds the Israelites when “these things have come upon you” to return to the Lord. God is relentless in His love towards us. He is faithful to do what He promised.
Today’s Prayer
Dear Lord,
Forgive me for my sin, my pride of self-sufficiency. I know Your Word is true and You have created all that I am or have. I know that You will restore me or anyone who turns from sin and comes to you. Help me to live my life honoring You with every choice I make. In Jesus Name, Amen.
