Persistent Love

About five years ago, I began trying to make a special effort during this time of year to share with others about the relationship I have with God. I am not some human He created and left to fend for myself. I am not desperately trying to do enough good to earn His favor for some day when He judges me. No. I live in constant assurance of the deep, selfless, persistent love God has for me. Let me explain.

First, the proof of the depth of God’s love is that He set His love on me when I cared nothing for Him. I was going my own way, deaf to His gentle calls to me, blind to the fact that the good things I received were gifts from Him. I was dead in my sins, having no hope, and without God in the world. While I was busy fulfilling the desire of my flesh and of my mind, God loved me so much that he sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live on earth, to be tempted to sin, and yet live a perfect life, so that He could pay the penalty of my sins: death. But Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the dead as proof that His death had indeed paid my death penalty and that He had conquered the power of sin so I could be free and live a new life in Him. This was the priceless gift He offered me. All I had to do to receive His gift was admit that I had broken God’s law, and deserved death; agree that my efforts at being good and doing kind things would never earn me a pass from my death penalty; and accept the forgiveness and righteousness made available to me by Christ’s death in my place.

Next, let me share with you the proof of the selflessness of God’s love. Like I said earlier, He love me even when I didn’t love Him. But eve n more than that, He knew exactly who I am. He knew my brokenness, knew my wayward heart, knew the sins I had committed and that there would be consequences for those sins that I deal with even today. But listen to these delightful, selfless words that Jesus proclaimed: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” This amazing, deep love is unconditional. Nothing I do or leave undone lessens His love for me, because God’s love is selfless.

And finally, I share with you the persistence of God’s love. Once I accepted God’s gift of forgiveness and a new life in Him, God didn’t leave our relationship at that. He gently and lovingly guided me in my decisions, always seeking my best. And it’s been an amazing journey, and awesome life. But as I said, I have a wayward heart. More times than I can remember, I have chosen to do my own thing; to go back and live like the slave to sin I once was; or try to make things happen on my own timetable. God knows that these paths lead to danger, destruction, and sorrow. So, in persistent love, He seeks me and with the same patience puts of roadblocks of correction, trying to get me to realize the folly of my choice. He persistently, lovingly tries to get me to choose His perfect way with a promised joyful ending over my troublesome way, sure to end in disappointment and pain. But He is not angry or malicious. Rather, as the prophet Hosea encouraged so many years ago, I can “return to the Lord; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten and he will bind us up.” And no matter how many times I stray, with the same persistent love, tender and yet firm, God seeks me ad draws me back into His way.

This is my relationship with God. As I live in His deep, selfless, persistent love, I find joy and fulfillment in doing what He asks of me. I love Him because He first loved me; and I find sweet fellowship as I follow Him. But boasting is not my reason for sharing this. Friend, I share this because this sets the stage for some wonderful news I’d like to share with you. God’s love for you is just as deep, just as selfless, just as persistent as it is for me. God longs for you to accept His loving gift of forgiveness and new life. If you have already accepted this gift, I encourage you to embrace the new life God has given you. He has set you free from the power of sin. And He knows exactly what you’ve done in your past, but he has a plan for you: a plan to use even the bad for some good purpose. And if you’re away from God, know that God is seeking you and drawing you with persistent cords of love. You’re not too far gone. Turn from your empty pursuits and seek Him. He has promised that HE will be found by those who seek Him. Rejoice, friend! Wherever you find yourself, you can experience the joy and fulfillment found only in embracing the deep, selfless, persistent love God offers you.