Everyone wants to be loved. But what is love? Tragically, our world understands very little about true love. We must turn to our Mighty Creator and Perfect Judge to understand what love is all about.
Our children need to hear that God's Love is Perfect -- Perfectly Just and Perfectly Merciful. His love is not swayed by human imperfections and injustice. When your children experience what God's Love really is, they'll know how powerfully and how perfectly they're loved. God's Love NEVER fails!
God’s love is the only reason we exist. It is the why of creation, whereas His power is the how. Love demands an object; therefore we are created as the object of God’s love.
God describes His love toward us in
Jeremiah 31:3 by saying, "
I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee."
- How does God describe His love toward us? (everlasting)
- Will there ever be a time when God will stop loving us? (No)
- Was there ever a time when God started loving us? (No, His love toward us is everlasting - it has no beginning and no end. It is His Nature to love us.)
God’s love is expressed to all people, not just those who love Him. He loved us first before we loved Him—even when we were unlovable. That is hard for us to accept at times. Yet all people benefit from His loving care. Jesus said in
Matthew 5:45 that God "...
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
Usually, in our world, the rich, beautiful, talented, athletic, and intelligent people receive the most attention and “love.” But who we are and what we do have no bearing on God’s love for us. When Jesus entered Jericho, He had to pass by that greedy tax collector, Zacchaeus, who was hated by everyone in town. Zacchaeus’s spiritual hunger was so great that he climbed into a tree to see Jesus. When Jesus passed under the tree, He stopped, looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I'm coming to your house today!” Zacchaeus did not need a second invitation. Scrambling out of the tree, he quickly welcomed Jesus into his home and into his heart (
Luke 19:1-10).
WHY DOES THIS MATTER:
God's unfailing, unchanging, all-powerful, and everlasting love is the only love we can absolutely count on! You can know for sure that you are loved no matter what.
Review our Bible Memory Verse. Knowing we are loved so completely by God helps us to love others.
TAKING ACTION:
- How did you experience God's love today?
- How did you show God's love to someone else today?
- If you have a friend who isn't a Christian, what do you think they don't understand about God's love?
- Is there something we can do as a family to show love to those less fortunate than us?
