Today's Bible Reading: PSALM 88-89, 144-145
Psalm 89:30-33
But if his descendants forsake my instructions and fail to obey my regulations, . . . then I will punish their sin . . . But I will never stop loving him nor fail to keep my promise to him.
Love is often a fleeting emotion. We love something or someone one day and some thing or someone else the next. Love is fickle and flimsy. It at times hangs on a thin string. It is often contingent on our moods or our attitudes. If we are offended or offend someone our love for them can diminish. If we are mistreated or slandered love can decline.
But God‘s love is consistent and constant. It does not diminish or decrease over time. It is endless in this life and eternal in the next.
The Psalmist reflects on God‘s unfailing love when he says of the Lord, "your unfailing love will last forever." This is hard for us to comprehend as we don’t often encounter this type of lasting love in our relationships. But it’s true. God’s love is not comparable to anything that we experience as we relate to others. It is unfathomable and inconceivable love.
We see in the Psalm’s two facets of God‘s love: His strong love and His sure love. His tough love is His disciplinary love. This type of love is expressed when His loved ones stray. The psalmist states, “if his descendants forsake my instruction . . . I will punish their sins” His love for them disciplines them in their disobedience. It is directive love. It motivates them to move in a different direction. It is confronting and correcting love that seeks to turn them from their transgression to walk in the truth. It is the “loving thing” to do. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Hebrews 12:5-6).
This strong love is balanced with His sure love. The Psalmist writes, “but I will never stop loving him, nor fail to keep my promise to him”. His love is sure and we are secure in His love. It is unshakable and unrelenting. We are inseparable from His sure love. We will all fail and fall into disobedience at some point, but the Lord’s love for us will never fail. His love is sure. It is founded not on our faithfulness or failures. It is secure and sealed in Christ’s love for us and His love for us is sure. The Father will never stop loving Christ His son, and thus will never stop loving those who are in Christ. Paul the apostle agrees when he writes, “ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39). He can’t stop loving you!
Today thank the Lord that there is nothing you can do to stop Him from loving you. Thank Him for His strong love that confronts you to change you. Praise Him for His sure love that gives you security even in those moments that you stray. Thank Him that He will never stop loving you.
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