The Depths of God’s Love

Readings for today: 1 Corinthians 13-14, Psalms 147

Our world is so confused when it comes to love. Too many people have fallen for the lie that love is a feeling. Something you can fall in and out of. Something disposable. Something that comes and goes. We see it all the time when celebrities break up. When cultural influencers announce their separations on social media. They still “love” each other but their love is not strong enough to overcome their differences. Their love is not strong enough to overcome their infidelities. Their love is not strong enough to hold them together.

Too many people have fallen for the lie that they must “love” themselves first. To do anything else is to subject oneself to abuse or dysfunction. The idea of sacrificing oneself regularly for another human being, putting that person’s needs above one’s own is anathema in our culture. Love must be “self-serving.” Love must lead to “self-actualization.” Love must demand that others love us the way we love ourselves.

Too many people have fallen for the lie that “love” is the same as sexual attraction. Everything is hyper-sexualized in our culture and to deny our attractions is now considered harmful. We are warned it might lead to depression and suicide. If we fail to affirm the sexual attractions of other people - no matter how disordered - we are hateful and bigoted and phobic.

Love has become a false god in our culture. A brutal tyrant with an insatiable appetite. He demands complete obedience and blind loyalty. His corrupting influence is now being felt in our schools and communities. In our courts of law and state houses. Even many churches are bowing at his altar. The results are devastating.

The Bible is clear…God is love but love is not God. It’s a critical distinction. God is love. God demonstrates His great love in the sending of His Son. God shows us what love is by sacrificing Himself in our place. God’s love is completely selfless. He puts our needs above His own. He is solely focused on the good of the “other.” His love is not self-serving. It is not possessive. It is not resentful. It is not prideful. It keeps no record of wrongs. It patiently endures all for the sake of all.

God’s love bears all things, including you and me. All of us are sinners. We are enslaved to our desires. We do the things we don’t want to do and we don’t do the things we do want to do. We can’t help ourselves.

God’s love believes all things. I have people in my life that I dearly love. They tell me they no longer believe in God. My response is always the same. “God believes in you.” God’s love can do no different. He sees each one of us as we ought to be. As He created us to be. As He redeemed us to be. And He longs for us to turn and embrace Him.

God’s love hopes all things. God will never give up on you. God will never stop pursuing you. God is relentless in the chase. His love drives Him. His great desires is that all should be saved and come to a knowledge of His truth.

God’s love endures all things. All of us are at war with God on some level. We rebel against His will. We reject His way. Our hearts are corrupt and deceitful and full of pride. They are always pulling us to go our own way. Do our own thing. Take our destiny into our own hands. God’s love endures our fits and starts. Our fears and failures. Our mistakes and missteps.

God’s love never fails. It will never fail you. It will never fail me. It will never fail the world. God’s love is enough. He died on a cross to satisfy the demands of justice. He willingly and joyfully took our place. Endured the punishment we deserved. Paid the price for our sin. God’s love would not stop until the work was finished. Until every last sin was wiped away.

Do you know you are loved by the God of the universe? Do you walk in His love? Rest in His love? Are you confident in His love? We aren’t talking about a feeling here. We are talking about an objective reality that is true whether we know it or not. Believe it or not. Understand it or not. Feel it or not. God’s love is the deepest, most profound truth undergirding the entire universe. His love is the foundation of all creation. His love provides meaning and purpose to human life. It is the telos or goal of our existence. Embracing this love is what gives us peace. Peace with God. Peace with others. Peace with ourselves. Peace with our world.

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 15-16, Psalms 148 (No devotionals on Sundays)

What Holds You?

Readings for today: Matthew 19, Mark 10:1-31, Luke 16-17, 18:1-30

I’ve often been struck by how Mark tells the story of the Rich Young Ruler. Here’s a man who is so earnest in his desire to serve God but he’s got a huge blind spot. Rather than look on him with judgment and condemnation, Mark makes it plain that Jesus looks on him with love. For years, I wondered if this was just a detail Mark kind of throws in there to soften Jesus’ words a bit. But then Jesus confronted me with something I was holding onto instead of Him. My children. I was so invested in making sure they were successful that I was losing them in the process. I was putting so much pressure on them to succeed at school, at sports, at music, at whatever they put their mind to that I was missing their hearts in the process. That’s when Jesus showed up through a counselor I was seeing to remind me of the power of His love.

Jesus looks on the rich young ruler with love. It’s so easy to overlook the power of that statement. Jesus is after our hearts and He knows that there are things that have a hold on us. It could be wealth or possessions. It could be achievement or performance or success. It could be our marriage or our children. It could be our career. It could be anything honestly because our hearts are like idol factories. And these idols hold great power over us which is why it is so difficult for us to relinquish them and walk away. That’s why the disciples respond in amazement to Jesus and ask if it’s impossible to enter the Kingdom of God. They knew the reality of their own sinful condition. Only God’s love is powerful enough to displace the idols of our hearts. Only God’s love is powerful enough to cast out all fear and bring an end to all anxiety. Only God’s love can break the hold the things of this world have on our hearts.

So back to my kids. Their success had become an idol for me. I had transferred my greatest fear onto them…the fear of failure. I was living in fear. And my fear caused me to respond to them primarily with anger. And my anger was destructive and breaking down the trust between us. So my counselor took me to James 1:20 which says, “The anger of man does not bring about the righteousness of God.” I was convicted to the core but it left me with a question. If my anger can’t bring about the righteousness I desire for my children, what can? Thankfully, my counselor had the answer. He took me to 1 John 4:18 which says, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” He then took me to 1 Corinthians 13:7-8 which says, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” That last part was the key. God’s love never fails. The very thing I was most afraid of - failure - was no longer in the picture if I would only learn to love my children the way God loves them. So I made the intentional choice - even when they struggled or made mistakes or walked dark roads - to always, always, always “look on them with love.” I pushed all my chips to the center on God’s love and the results have been amazing. I have watched my children - strengthened by the love of their Father as it flows through me - overcome anxiety and fear and depression. Overcome drug and alcohol abuse. Overcome sexual temptation and sin. Overcome defiance and anger and brokenness and pain. We have the most amazing relationships now and though the journey isn’t over and there are still struggles along the way, God’s love has proved more than sufficient.

So what holds you? What has a grasp on your heart? What idols are you holding onto? Trust in God’s love. Embrace God’s love. Let His love flow through you and release you from the bondage of sin and the things of this world.

Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 20, Mark 10:32-52, Luke 18:31-43, 19:1-27