![]() That means we don’t have to qualify for God’s Love. God loved us so much to send His son to endure the punishment we deserved. Unconditional love. The word “unconditional” isn’t found in Scripture but the idea certainly is.Your God and Father is indeed the greatest Lover of your soul. ![]() Rather than become jaded or withdrawn, be mindful that we, too, fail in our love toward others.īut beyond the broken hearts and broken relationships, the perfect God loves you perfectly. Spouses, parents, siblings, children and close friends may fail us. No matter what you feel regarding human love, I encourage you to re-think and re-frame your view of God's love for you. He forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, satisfies and has compassion. Beyond the specific times khesed - kindness and faithful love - is used, note the broader themes of His love. I would encourage you to take out your Bible, study Psalm 103, and note all the ways that David explains and expresses the ways God loves His people. The psalmists paint vivid portraits of God's faithful love. We often say we believe in the promises of God, but do we connect this to His nature as a loving God and Father? We say God loves us, but do we reflect on the immeasurable nature of His love: that He chose us before the foundation of the world, sent Christ to die for us, indwells us with His Spirit, is merciful, compassionate and forgives us again, and again? God never tires of our prayers, or gets mad, or is disappointed and abandons us. It's who He is: He is always true, always faithful, and always loyal to His word, and His people. We may not tend to think of loyalty as love-due to our language deficit-but think of God the Father, who is always loyal to keep His promises. While any single definition is inadequate, let me suggest: God loves to be loyal to His promises and His covenant people. Many commentators will distill the word group to mean loyal love, but that seems to fall short of a full expression. It is always translated "loving kindness" in the NASB, "everlasting love" in the ESV, while the HCSB uses two main English words: "kindness" (42 times) and "faithful love" (136 times).Ī summary of the way khesed-kindness and faithful love-are used reveals a broad spectrum of meanings: deeds of devotion, faithfulness, favor, goodness, kindness, loyalty, mercy and unchangeableness. Perhaps the most important Old Testament term describing God's love is khesed. If we looked at broader expressions of God's love toward man (care, mercy, compassion, etc.), it would be nearly impossible to count. Translating the different Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek words used for love in the Bible, the Holman Christian Standard Bible renders the word "love" 766 times. While mankind looks for love, turning to God's love offers great help. For others, love is fraught with misunderstanding and unrealistic expectations. Some enjoy and think we understand love to a degree. Love is an endless well for authors and songwriters. Love has been portrayed as wonderful or disastrous, passionate or indifferent. But loving objects and experiences is not in the same realm as loving one another, much less loving God. Beyond expressing love for others, we may love a lot of things: autumn, babies, puppies, kittens, chocolate, traveling, warm summer days, the first snow, a day on the beach or the morning's first cup of coffee. ![]() Love is an endless arrangement of emotion, passion and affection, entwined with pain and loss. To mere earthlings, love is manifold and varicolored. If measured in dollars, that's a lotta love.īut might I suggest we step away from those items for a few minutes to truly think about love. Last year, Americans spent nearly $4 billion on flowers, stuffed animals, cards and candy. ![]() Many will write about and pine for true love. ![]()
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