"I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3).
God loves us. This isn’t for some perfect people who’ve never fallen
into sin. There’s nobody who’s like that. All of us have made a mess of
things – but God still says to us, “I love you.” He says, “My Son,
Jesus, died for you.” This is what gives us the strength to choose His
way rather than our own way. This is what keeps us from sin. This is
what convinces us that there’s a better way than the way of sin. There’s
a way of blessing. It comes to us when we’re learning how much God
loves us. He doesn’t give up on us when we let Him down. He keeps on
loving us. He keeps on lifting us up. He sets us on our feet. He changes
the direction of our life. It becomes less about ourselves, and more
about Him (Galatians 2:20).
So often, we have been like ‘the prodigal son’(Luke 15:11-24).
We have walked away from our Father’s House. We have wandered off into
‘the far country’. We feel that we are far from God, yet still He draws
near to us.
The Lord is at work in our hearts. He is bringing us
‘to our senses’. He is reminding us of His love. He is drawing us back
to Himself. In love, He is calling us home again. He is speaking to our
hearts. He is saying to us, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’
(Jeremiah 31:3).
As His love reaches our hearts, ‘the prodigal
son’ becomes ‘the returning son’: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven
and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son’. ‘Bring me
back, let me come back, for you are the Lord my God!’(Jeremiah 31:18).
Where
do God’s peace and joy come from? They come from His love. It’s the
greatest love of all (Ephesians 3:18). There’s nothing like the love of
God. His peace is great. His joy is great. His love is even greater.
This is where His blessing comes from. He loves us. He loves us with “an
everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). It’s a love that will not let us go.
It’s a love that goes on forever. When we say, “May God’s blessing
surround you each day”, what we’re saying is this: May you know that God
loves you; may you know that He’s never going to stop loving you; may
you know the blessing of His love.
