God is love.
We hear it often, perhaps even say it. It is such a simple statement, yet the most powerful of all statements. God loves us for ourselves, and not for anything we can do or give Him. We cannot cause God to love us more, or less, than He already does. Yet we live in a performance-based culture, which causes us to think we need to earn God’s love.
The story of the prodigal son is one of my favorite stories in the gospels. Three persons are highlighted in this story:
- The younger son, to whom the father restores all the rights of sonship, so that he loses nothing.
- The older brother, who had remained faithfully with his father, had a problem with the grace extended to his younger brother. Sometimes we can be just like the older brother ”“ stuck and smug in our self righteousness, forgetting our God is gracious to all.
- The father who extends forgiveness, grace, and love in spite of all he had experienced.
In my life, I have been the prodigal, the one in need of God’s forgiveness and grace. I have also been the older son ”“ wanting to begrudge God’s grace and celebration of another. And I have been like the father, having to embrace and forgive and restore position to another. Maybe that is why I love this story so much. We can see ourselves in the story and recognize the depth of God’s love and mercy and grace in our own lives.
I turn to read  1 Corinthians 13:4-8. In light of the story of the prodigal, I read verse 7 several times:
“Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (NLT)
The word “endures” speaks to me.
Join me at Woman to Woman Ministries HERE as we look at the enduring love God extends to us, His people.
Photo by Isaac Wendland on Unsplash
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Another wonderful post Ms. Joanna. I’m moved to add that we must do far more than exclaim God is love, we must demonstrate it in the way we live our lives. Be He is in love, then we know His love is present. We can perhaps all show that a bit more. God’s blessings ma’am.
‘Sometimes we can be just like the older brother ”“ stuck and smug in our self righteousness, forgetting our God is gracious to all.’
Thank you for speaking this truth, Joanne. Where would we be, who would we be without Jesus. I don’t even want to imagine.
I often pray for God’s love through me. My love falls short. God’s love never fails.