Journal Entry ~ 09/25/18
All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. - Psalm 25:10
We need to be reminded of His steadfast, pursuing love all the time. We live in a very broken world full of people who don't know how to love. People love conditionally, based on how they feel or how someone else makes them feel. Ask a young couple why they love one another, and you'll often only hear conditional clauses - she's beautiful, he makes me laugh, she respects me, he's confident, she treats me well, etc. Even the "unconditional" love we have for our children can be conditional on how they behave. No, we don't stop "loving" then when they make poor choices or disrespect us, but we can certainly stop showing it for awhile. If we're being honest, we have all thought "my child/spouse/family member would be so much easier to love if they were like that..." And because of it, we've all said things we regret to the ones we love. That's because the broken love that can be found in this world is conditional - it's not the "I love you before me", sacrificial love that defines our God's love, it's the "I love you because of how you make me feel" love.
Think about the last time you said "I love you" to someone, or the last time someone said it to you. Chances are good that it was either the rote "I love you" you say to a close family ("goodbye, I love you!") or it was said because of the way they made you feel in the moment. They did something sweet for you, so your response is "aww, I love you."
Sacrificial love is different. It doesn't turn away when it's been hurt, it doesn't scream when it's been disrespected, it doesn't grow cold or distant with time, it doesn't mock or betray, it doesn't ever stop. Not for a moment. But the love of this world does, and that can cause deep, painful scars. All this brokenness in our love relationships causes us deep hurt, and it goes to our very core. When we've been hurt deeply by those we love, we lose our trust in people and in God. We do anything to protect our hearts from feeling the pain of heartache.
But that's not God - He loves you with a deep, authentic love, a steadfast love that pursues you even when you run, mock, or betray Him. He will never hurt you. His love is not a contract love - the kind of love where we feel something because of the way someone makes us feel. No, His love is authentic and deeply genuine, regardless of how we treat Him or others. He loves us with a covenant love, and we are reminded of that love in this verse. That's the kind of love we need to tell the world about, that's the kind of love we need to remind one another of every single day.
Press on ~ you are loved 💗
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