Love Eternal

Ever go through periods of your life where you question God’s love? Maybe you just don’t feel it or sense it? Or you think He is not happy with you at this moment? He is instead frustrated or aggravated with you. He’s had enough of it already! Or maybe you question His love based on something you are going through in your life? You wonder why this or that is happening if He loves you! Maybe you don't want to admit it, but we all go through times in our spiritual journey where we doubt God’s love for us.

Now think about your life. Nothing specific, just how long it is. The years and years you have lived. Think back to what decade it was when you were a child. Think about how much life has changed since then. Think about how the world is so much different. Look back on the varying changes in our country and the world over that time. Think about the many years still left to live! Decades and decades have gone by and decades will probably continue to go on in your life.

Now that I have you thinking about these two things (God’s love and the length of your life), I want to reflect on something the Bible does with this. In Psalm 103 we are told:

What an interesting comparison. The psalmist is showing us just how short our lives are compared to God’s love. Yet this is such a unique comparison. When we measure the length of our lives it is done so with time. It is not measured by someone’s character. The years or decades you have lived is what we go by. Not somebody’s feelings. We look back to the year you were born and realize how much time has passed since. And to know if you have lived a long life…we compare it to other lives! We don’t compare it to the attributes of God! If you died at age 23, that wasn’t very long to live. But long compared to what? To someone who lives into their 80s or 90s. We compare our life and its length to other people.

But the Bible wants us to do a different comparison. God wants us to realize just how wonderful His love is. We read things in the bible, like how His love is “steadfast”. But we do not really know what that is like. We do not experience anything comparable in our lives. So God has us look at the length of our lives. Then He shifts to show us that our lives (no matter how long we think they are) are barely existent compared to His love. We are passive, His love is eternal. We wither away, His love is steadfast. We are here then gone, His love is never ending. We have an end, His love does not. We are forgotten, His love is ever present. We are like grass that dies away, His love is like a mountain that never changes.

When we see comparisons like this, it is important to stop and meditate on them. We need to stop thinking, reading, looking, checking on whatever and just reflect on what is being compared for us. It is good to be reminded of His love. That it is not a fleeting feeling like with humans. It is not ever changing, but steadfast. Think about how long your life is. Think about the years here on earth. Think of the years that are still yet to come. Now realize, now open your mind, now try and contemplate that God’s love is longer. More consistent and constant. All lives have different time frames, but not God’s love. All lives have a definitive beginning, but not God’s love. All lives have an eventual end, but not God’s love. All lives are different, but not God’s love. His love is eternal, steadfast and never changing. Not even in intensity! Wow!

But there is one caveat. One condition we must not overlook. The passage reminds us that His love is this way for certain people. For those “who fear Him…keep His covenant and remember to do His commandments.” What does this mean? Those who are truly saved. Only those who have repented and placed their faith in Christ alone. It is only the saved ones who fear Him, keep His covenant and His commands. So for us to experience His eternal, steadfast love, we must trust in Him. Oh to trust in Him to bask in His glory and His love. For those that are His children, you know. But we also can forget. Life distracts us. Circumstances affect us. Let us remember the wonders of His life by comparing it to our lives. Let us realize His love is unsearchable, unthinkable and can not be fully known. Let us pray to grow in our love for Him. Let us not compare His love to the love we experience in our lives. Let us compare and learn more about what His love really is.