The season of spring has been gracing us with its presence for nearly a month now. The 21st of March has come and gone, and even Easter is behind us, but I only recently remembered to put out my front porch spring sign. Better late than never I suppose.
The turning over of one season into the next snuck up on me this year because I’ve started a new job. I’ve returned to my social work roots as a case manager for home health for the elderly and disabled. I’ve entered a new season, one I’m enjoying.
Changing seasons in nature, changing seasons of life – change is constant. But one thing that never changes is the holy, indestructible, unwavering love of God.
It’s a love that never fails, never fades, never changes. It’s a love that reaches to the very depths of our souls. It’s unconditional and eternal. It envelopes the whole world in its vastness yet it draws near to us intimately and personally. It’s a love like no other.
It transcends our questions, our doubts, our fears. It eclipses our needs, our failings, our struggles. The love of God is all-encompassing and everlasting.
No one else is capable of loving us the way God loves us because God is love. The very definition of love is… God. “God is love.” (1 John 4: 8, 16) We love – ourselves, others, God – because He first loved us. There can be no love without God. He is the source and essence of love.
When we find God, we find love – and we find we are so very loved by Him. We are loved with a love no one else on Earth is capable of.
And because God never changes (Hebrews 13:8), His love for us will never change. It will always be there for us, whether we feel it or not. Whether we acknowledge it or not. In the midst of changes and challenges, in good times and bad, His love exists. His love endures. And it’s ours for the taking.
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
1 John 4:16 NIV
As we accept, embrace, and internalize the love He has for us, we then love Him, ourselves, and others.
What a truly blessed life is available to us – to spend our days being loved by God and loving others. A life enriched, a life of purpose.
A life of love.
May we know “what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love.” Ephesians 3:18 HCSB
