Faithfully yours - God’s everlasting love

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Published on Saturday, March 19, 2016

By Neil Strohschein

The Neepawa Banner

We’ve all been there at least once in life. Someone that we dearly love, for whom we have cared and into whose life we have invested years of time, talent and treasure suddenly walks out of our lives, leaving us feeling abandoned, lonely and very much alone.

It may be a sudden layoff from a well-paying job, a broken friendship, a failed marriage or the death of a parent, partner or child (expected or not). Our stories may be different, but what we feel is the same. There are no words that can fully describe the pain we feel or the blow to our self-esteem that overwhelms us as the full extent of our loss becomes apparent.

In my life-time, I have been through all four of the above at least once (some more than once). I jokingly tell people that I have “been there, done that, got the diploma, got the t-shirt and paid the fine.” I know what it’s like to feel betrayed, rejected, abandoned and reduced to someone who, in the opinion of a few, was no longer of any value to anyone, including God. I know what it’s like to go to bed at night and ask God to let me die; because life just isn’t worth living. I have been there, I have done that, and it’s not a pleasant place in which to be.

But in that cesspool of misery and self-pity, a cesspool for which I was largely responsible (more on that later), God opened my eyes and helped me understand how much he loved me.

That insight came as I read these words written by the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah: “This is what God says…I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you and you will be built…” (Jeremiah 31:1, 3b-4a)

In that moment, I realized that God’s love for me was unconditional. He loved me before I was born. He has loved me in life, he will love me in death and he will love me in the life to come.

And because of his great love, he was offering to help me do something I could not do in my own strength. He was going to help me get out of that cesspool of misery and self-pity, get cleaned up and build something beautiful out of the tragedies I had experienced.

I wish I could tell you that everything went smoothly from then on; but it didn’t. Getting out of that cesspool took time. Getting cleaned up (dealing with my bitterness and anger) took time. I had to learn some hard lessons and go through some dark nights of the soul. But one thing never changed. I knew then and I know now that God loves me—and he loves you—no matter what.

How is that love revealed? God is patient with us, kind to us, and puts up with us in those times when we allow bitterness, anger, resentment and hate to dictate how we react to life’s challenges. He never leaves us alone. He never abandons us. He never writes us off as being worthless and of no further use to society. That’s not how true love acts—and God’s love is true love.

God doesn’t throw us in the trash when we mess up. He comes to us, picks up the pieces of our broken lives and builds something beautiful from those pieces. Then he stands back, looks at what he has made and says: “That’s good—that’s very good!”