Saturday, August 8, 2015

The Strong and Faithful Love of God


How secure is the love of God?  How strong is God’s will to save his people?  Reading through the prophet Isaiah there are a number of poetic portraits of God’s saving power.  Consider these words from Isaiah 51.6:

Lift up your eyes to the sky, then look to the earth beneath; for the sky will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will not wane.

It’s as if God says, “Look at the most stable things that I have created—the sky and earth.  These will disappear before my salvation love disappears!”  Our God makes promises to bless his people and nothing will stop him from keeping his word!  A similar thought appears in Isaiah 54.10:

For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but my lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and my covenant of peace will not be shaken,” says the Lord who has compassion on you.

The earth may shake but there will be no shaking of the covenant-love of God for his people! 

Stepping into the New Testament we have even more reason to be confident in the love of God.  The great measure of the love of God is seen in the giving of the Son of God for us sinners.  The apostle Paul notes:

What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him over for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things?  (Romans 8.31-32)

God has spared no expense—he has given his greatest gift, his Son.  We can be confident in this love no matter what circumstances we face.  God will give us everything we need to love him and live for him.  He has already freely given his Son—surely nothing else will be withheld from us that we need for us to be conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8.29).  We can be confident in the love of God.  He tells us how strong his words of love are and then he backs up his words with the greatest act of grace ever—the free gift of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Trust in his love and rejoice in his grace!