Discovering Unfailing Love (part 2)

If you haven’t read the first part of this subject on God’s “Unfailing Love”, please do so as it will make more sense starting from the beginning. We are dealing with the “Myth” of God having “Unconditional” love rather than “Unfailing Love“. As I already stated, the concept of God having and extending unconditional love to humanity is a creation of the 20th century and it is found nowhere in the Bible.

The concept came out of the development of humanistic psychology, which in many ways replaced our cultures reliance on Biblical values and truth. Today, even Christian counseling tends to rely more heavily on the teaching of psychiatry from a humanistic value system than it does on scripture. Now, instead of going to a priest to confess your sin you go to a counselor and only the counselor can only give us advise but is ill-equipped to help us with our sin.

Because of this false belief in unconditional love, I will be using more scripture than usual to hopefully bring greater light on the myth and more clarity on the biblical concept of “Unfailing Love”instead.  The use of “Unfailing Love” is used more than a 1,000 times throughout scripture depending on the translation.  It is found the most in the NASB translation.

We all know that God’s love is amazing. That God loves us not because we are so good, but because we are made in his image even though we are broken. Our value is in our design as God’s special creation, each and every one of us. His word states that because of his great love he puts his affections and mercy towards us .

John 3:16-17

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 

1 John 4:8-9

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

God extends his love by being willing to forgive our sin if we are willing to acknowledge our sin and embrace what Christ did for us on the cross. No one would deny that this is a condition of receiving His love and grace.  However, somehow we have embraced the notion that once we are forgiven we now have love that is without condition. If the purpose of love and forgiveness is transformation then how is it that we no longer see the need for an incentive to be transformed like when we were lost and without God?

Can you imagine a bride telling her husband that she loves him, but still wants to have sex with other men after they are married? Of course not!  Yet we think God is less of a lover than a typical husband who would never accept such a woman as his bride. But consider a man and wife pledging to love each other till death do they part and after a few years the husband decides he wants to have sex with other women. He goes to his wife and tells her the good news and states, “I still love you dear, however I want to change the rules of our relationship and have sex with anyone I choose”.  Do you think a woman would accept such an arrangement?  Not if she still has her brain intact!  Why would we think God is less of a lover than our spouse. The Old Testament is full of such examples of God offering his love to Israel and they taking him for granted, thus God rejected Israel as his lover.

John 14:21 

“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” 

Jesus says to his disciple the night he was going to be betrayed that if you love him you will keep his commandments. He was saying this to Judas as well as the other 11 disciples. He was challenging them to realize they have to make a choice of embracing his way of loving God the Father or they couldn’t participate in his love.

Jesus taught in the Gospel of Luke about the importance of choosing in life. We would love to think we can choose  both God and things and yet he said this is impossible.  Somehow we think God is so hungry to share his love with those that don’t care about him or his kingdom all because we have bought into this foolish notion that God’s love is unconditional.

Luke 16:13 

No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Let me be clear. I totally believe that God’s love is amazing and extends to all who are willing to love him back but I do not believe the Bible teaches that Christianity is a one way street where we are takers and he is the giver only.

Romans 5:6-8 

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

King David understood that if he walked in broken relationship with God by living in a sinful way that the Lord would not hear his prayers nor bless his life.

Psalms 66:18       If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear me.

Psalms 62:12      And lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord, For You recompense a man according to his work.

Ps 32:10        The LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts* in him. 

Ps 33:18       But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

Lastly, let me bring up a prime parable where Jesus tries to illustrate God’s desire to pour his love on anyone willing to respond. The parable known as the “Prodigal Son” tells the story of a  rich man who had two sons and the youngest wanted his inheritance before his father’s death and the father gave it to him. After the son spent all his money on sinful living the son found himself experiencing the harsh reality of what rebellion to his father’s values and love produce. At the lowest point of his consequences, while hungry and feeding pigs, he came to his senses and started on the road home.

Luke 15:20-22 

“So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; 

[24] for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

What most people miss is the point that this son was dead to his father BUT, because his son came to his senses and repented, the father had grace on him and welcomed him home.

Questions:

1) Would you lavish your love on someone who constantly abused you generosity?  Neither will God.

2) Have you relied on God’s “Unconditional Love” and lived less than God intended? Ask for His forgiveness today.

May the Holy Spirit help us to think biblically and walk in the Father’s love wisely.

Pastor Dale