With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you

With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you. 

Love is a term that we throw around a lot.   We love chocolate and ice cream and water parks and the color purple.   But this kind of love is different from our love for our family or our friends.   Now, take the difference between these two types of love and multiply it several thousand times, and you are just beginning to understand God’s love for you.

This is the truth that Jeremiah tried to help Israel understand.   God loves them with an age-old love.   It’s a love that persists despite their having turned away from him.   It’s a love that promises mercy and restoration.

God’s love is perfect.   It doesn’t depend on what you do or how well you do it.   In fact, you might have really messed up, and he still loves you.   That’s because his love is based on who you are: his child, created in his own image and likeness.   Don’t worry; you don’t have to prove yourself.   He won’t abandon you.   You may not always feel him with you, but his faithfulness remains.   He knows how your human weakness might cloud your vision of him, but in his mercy, he promises to restore you over time.

Maybe you feel far from God today.   Perhaps you have committed a sin that makes you think God can’t love you any more.   This is simply not true.   You may feel that you are broken beyond repair, but that’s not how he sees you.   It may take time, but be assured that as you take even the smallest step toward the Lord, he will run toward you and gather you in his arms.   He is always assuring you of his promises of love and mercy.

If these truths speak to your heart, take a few minutes and tell the Lord what you are feeling.   It might help to write it down.   Then, read through scripture again.   Pick out a verse that stands out, and write it somewhere where you will see it throughout your day.   These promises of love and compassion are for you, right where you are.   God loves you with an age-old love.   Open the door of your heart and receive it.

word among us