Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Love Overlooks and Forgives and Remains


I found Daddy’s old suitcase and it was full of more mementos. Among the stuff there were a few love letters written between him and my mother. Daddy worked off shore when I was little, so he would be gone for a couple of months at a time. They wrote to each other – about their love, about their days, about me, about life where they were. Always it came back to each other – pledging love, agreeing that the loneliness would subside when they were together again.  It comforted my heart to know that my mother and daddy loved one another. I knew it, but it was really cool to see it in writing.

Love is an overused word and an underappreciated virtue. People pledge it and forsake it. They swear by it and then they swear at it. Neither of my parents was perfect. Both of them had endured hard lives, been raised in dysfunctional families and thought they had found love and lost it. But for their 28 years together, they found something worth hanging onto, some intrinsic value in each other that might not be detected by others. They loved each other and because of that they were able to forgive a lot and overlook each other’s weaknesses.

Everyone looks for this kind of love, but often people think that the only way to find this love is to be perfect. Then when imperfection surfaces, as it surely will, they are despondent and often times give up. They walk away and find themselves searching again for that one perfect love that will see them through. I think my parents proved to me real love – they didn’t care about things or possessions, they just cared about one another. They were able to shut out the world’s noise and concentrate on their life together and they did it for love.

I don’t care who you are, I don’t care what you’ve done. More importantly God doesn’t care about those things. He only cares about you. When he talked with the woman at the well, He already knew all about her.  He already knows all about you. But He is willing and able to take your imperfections and through His love, make you perfect in Him.

Oh beloved, maybe you’ve struggled with self-esteem or people’s opinions. You tried to live up to others’ expectations and found yourself falling short of being perfect. God says to you this morning, I love you…and because I love you, I am betrothing Myself to you forever. From before the world was created I thought of you. I searched for you and found you and brought you to Myself. If you will only trust Me, I will make our love story one of the great messages of Calvary. You are My prized possession, you are My greatest joy and My reason for making a home in heaven.

There is nothing, absolutely nothing that will ever separate you from God’s love. Not your mistakes, not your regrets, not your failings or your lack, for beloved, He meets all those needs and more.  Trust Him today for He loves you and He’s for you and that’s all that really matters, both here and in eternity.

Romans 5:6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

Romans 8:38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.

I John 4:10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Jeremiah 31:3 Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.     With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself.

Psalm 103:1-4 Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me.  He forgives all my sins   and heals all my diseases.  He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.

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