Everlasting Love
As a teenager, I dreamed of finding that one, perfect “someone.”
My “knight in shining armor” who would love me (as Luther Vandross wrote in his song) “always and forever”. To him, I would be “perfect” despite my physical imperfections (I would never look like Twiggy or have thick, flowing waist-length hair like the model in the shampoo commercial).
In his eyes, I would be beautiful and precious and, as the song goes, he would “only have eyes for [me]”. *
He would make my life complete.
About the middle of my senior year of college, I realized there wasn’t a knight on the horizon (but a few donkeys had left their calling cards).
Most of us hunger for everlasting, unconditional love, love that won’t cool or run dry with the years. We forget (or overlook) the One Who yearns for us to accept His offer of faithful love.
In the book of Jeremiah, God declares His love for His people: “‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.’” (Jer 31:3 ESV)
This comes after years of “harlotry.” The people had abandoned the Lord (Jer 2:13 &17), worshiped other gods (Jer 13:10) and idols made with their own hands (see Jer 32:30). They had worshiped “stones and trees” (Jer 3:9) and practiced abhorrent acts of “worship” (see Jer 2:20).
The Lord was angry.
There were consequences for their unfaithfulness including crop failures (Jer 5:24-25; 14:1-6) and enemies who conquered, enslaved, and deported the people to Babylon (Jer 6:11-12).
But despite their unfaithfulness, God’s faithful love never failed.
Rather than abandoning his people, He promised a new covenant (Jer 31:31) declaring“‘… I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.’” (Jer 31:34).
WOW!!
Faithful to His word (see Jer 33:15) about 550 years later God sent His only Son, Jesus, (see Luke 1;67-79; 2:11) to seal “‘…the new covenant in [His] blood’” (Luke 22:20, NASB).
His faithful, everlasting love was sealed for eternity.
The faithful lover we seek, the One Who knows us better than we know ourselves, the One intimately familiar with all our flaws and failures, Jesus, the Lover of our soul, offers us total forgiveness, complete faithfulness and perfect, “everlasting love.”
Will you trust Him and accept His offer?
(C) Debbie Lowe – Life Lessons from the Living Word
*I Only Have Eyes for You, The Flamingos, 1959.
Scripture quotations from Christian Standard Bible unless otherwise noted.
