We all long to be loved. And because of this, we seek the love of people around us as if their love alone will satisfy our longing. The truth of the matter, however, is that God loves us whether we are aware of it or not. It is his love that has been sustaining us. In fact, we cannot love and be loved without the love of God in us. The apostle John said, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).
The reason we often overlook God’s love for us is that we do not have an intimate relationship with him. We treat him like just a fixture somewhere, which we call on only when we are in need. But if we consider what he has done for us, we can easily run out of words to express our gratitude. If love is measured by the good things that others have done for us, God has done more. He has been sustaining us by his loving care from the time we were born. If this is not enough to prove his love, he sent his only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. He did this all in the name of love. The apostle John said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
But why should we trust in the love of God? Firstly, God’s love is long-suffering. God is patient with us. The apostle Peter said, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Indeed, God is willing to wait and exercise maximum restraint as he does so. If he rushes in his judgment, no one will survive. Even in the time of Noah, he waited patiently so that Noah’s family could be saved. “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built” (1 Peter 3:18-21).
God’s love is overflowing. As God loved us, he did not consider where we had been. He just showed his love to us through his Son Jesus Christ. The apostle John said, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him” (1 John 3:1). God is not only known as a gracious, compassionate and merciful God, but one who abounds in love and faithfulness. King David said, “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you” (Psalm 31:19).
God’s love is vindicating. It is on account of God’s love that we are vindicated or forgiven. In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul said, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). And when God demonstrated his love for us, his forgiveness was made complete. In his Psalm, David said, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:11-12). This is in line with what the apostle Paul had said, that God does not keep a record of wrong and that what he has forgiven, he has forgotten.
God’s love is everlasting. God’s love endures the test of time. It is everlasting. King David said, “But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children” (Psalm 103:17). God’s love is not like the flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow. In fact, God himself said through the prophet Jeremiah, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness” (Jer. 31:3). Though we might fail, God’s love will endure forever. He will continue to sustain us with his unfailing love. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23). It is God’s everlasting love that serves as the anchor of our salvation. God loves us eternally and it is his love that saves us in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah!