“Would you still love me if I murdered someone?” my son asked recently, and it wasn’t the first time. He loves to push the hypothetical limits and find out whether my love would survive. My answer is always the same: “I love you because you’re my child. Because you’re mine. Nothing will ever change that. You’ll always be my son, so I will always love you.”
I often tell my kids that I don’t love them because they obey or get good grades or treat each other kindly. I love them because they are my children. Because nothing can change their status as my children, nothing can change my love for them. They didn’t earn it, so they can’t lose it.
I desperately want my children to understand this concept so I can explain that God’s love is similar. Except God’s love is even better—it is perfect, and mine is not! I will always love my children, but I don’t always act lovingly toward them. I get impatient. I get angry. I lose my temper. I fail to keep my promises when I get busy, forget, or change my mind.
God loves us perfectly all the time. His love for us is rooted in our status as His children, not on our behavior or accomplishments. We could never earn His love. Christ earned it for us, and He died for us so we could share in His inheritance as children of God. Because we didn’t earn God’s love, we can’t lose it.
His love will never fail you. Nothing you do will ever change or lessen God’s perfect love for you. God’s love is a solid rock to cling to when trials come.
Psalm 100:5: For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
No matter what you face this week, His steadfast love for you endures forever.
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Wow Marissa! How have I been so clueless? I knew about your book, but somehow I missed your blog. Thank you for writing this. It’s almost Friday, but I needed a “no matter what” reminder of God’s love today!