God's unfailing love

 

Ps 103:17

But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—

We have all experienced a moment in our lives where we doubted that God could still love us – maybe after we had sinned against Him; or experienced a time where we felt that He was far removed from us; or even during a time where we were so focused on our own busy lives that we started ignoring our time with Him, and guilt set in.

The word for love used here in our verse above is Khesed – a rich Hebrew word in the Old Testament describing God's covenantal, loyal love, combining steadfast kindness, mercy, and devotion. It implies action-oriented, unconditional loyalty rather than mere emotion, often translated as "steadfast love" or "loving-kindness".

‘From everlasting to everlasting’ implies a faithfulness that few of us have experienced from people during our lifetime. But think about what this is also saying – His wonderful love for you is also from everlasting – this means that He loved you before you were even born. He has loved you for an eternity already, and will keep on loving you through all eternities ahead, and because He promised this for all who reverence Him, we can be absolutely sure that His loyal love for us will never cease, no matter what!

And this is why Paul can promise us in Rom 8:39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This does not mean that we will not go through some rough patches in our lives. We have His assurances that He will be with us through all the trials life may throw at us. Indeed, Paul names a few circumstances that we may be asked to face in Rom 8:35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? And the answer to this question is of course, NO, He always loves us!

Pearls to ponder:

Think about what this loyal everlasting love of God means in your life, and adjust your attitude about the difficult situations you are facing both now, and those in your past. Are you blaming God for them? Do you think that you are being punished for something, or that God has stopped caring for you, or that you are somehow not good enough for God to love you? Live humbly before your God, bask in His love and see how He lifts you up above your circumstances!

Unfailing Love