God is Love.
Such a simple statement and at the same time, the most powerful of all statements. God loves us for ourselves and not for anything we can do or give Him. We cannot cause God to love us more, or less, than He already does. Yet we live in a performance-based culture, causing us to think we need to earn God’s love.
The story of the prodigal son is one of my favorite stories in the gospels. Three persons are highlighted in this story:
- The younger son, who wandered, squandered, and returned.The father restores all the rights of sonship, so that he loses nothing despite his wrong choices.
- The older brother, who had remained faithfully with his father, had a problem with the grace extended. Sometimes we can be just like the older brother – stuck and smug in our self righteousness, forgetting out God is gracious to all.
- The father who extends forgiveness, grace, and love in spite of all he had experienced.
In my life, I have been the prodigal, the one in need of God’s forgiveness and grace. I have also been the older son – wanting to begrudge God’s grace and celebration of another. And I have been like the father, having to embrace and forgive.
The story helps us to see ourselves. We can see and recognize the depth of God’s love, mercy, and grace extended to our own lives. We see modeled for us the very manner in which we are to treat others.
God’s love compels us, drawing us to Himself.
“Love never gives up, never loses faith,
is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
(1 Corinthians 13:7, NLT)
The word “endures” speaks to me.
Endures, according to dictionary.com, means “to continue to exist; to hold out without any impairment.”
God’s love lasts – it has stood the test of time. He has loved all people for all time. His love has not diminished, increased, or ceased. His love has, and will, remain stable and consistent throughout the ages.
The word ‘endures’ brings to mind the repetitive words of Psalm 136. All 26 verses in that chapter end with the words “His love endures forever”. God knew we would need reminders and repetition of His love for us.
“God’s love toward his saints is higher, deeper, wider, and longer than anyone can comprehend. Throughout all the ages to come, God’s covenant love for his people, like a mighty river, will be flowing as strong in eternity future as when it first began in eternity past. This is the awe-inspiring wonder of being the special object of his everlasting love.”
(from The Holman Old Testament Commentary, Volume 12, page 320)
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is redeeming and restoring.
God’s love for us never ceases.
Reflection:
How does the story of the prodigal son speak to you today? More so, what does God’s love speak to you today?
Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay
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