Often times we think of God as safe and responsible. But did you know that His love is reckless, it’s crazy, it’s risky? In 1997, as I was preparing for my Grade 12 final exams, we received unthinkable news. My father was having an affair and he was leaving us. Now I grew up in church and my parents served in church. As you can imagine, I was devastated. I got so angry at God that I turned my back on Him completely and lived opposite to how I knew He wanted me to. But then early one morning, the unbelievable happened. Surrounded by hung over people, I heard a voice say to me, “What are you doing? I have a plan for your life. Get up, get your stuff and get out.”
In that moment, despite the rebellion in my heart, I knew that God was speaking to me and I had to listen. I got my stuff and ran out of that house. I spent the next few months drawing close to God and allowing His love to heal me and restore me and put my broken life back together again. You see God was not repulsed by my sin as I thought He would be. I turned my back on Him, when I knew better. He could’ve just left me to my own devices. But He didn’t. He came for me, He chased me and fought through my hard heart, and He rescued me.
I love what it says in Romans 8:38-39 (NIV),
“ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Nothing, not even our sin and rebellion can separate us from God’s love.
Here are a few things that I have discovered about God’s love towards us.
God’s love runs after you
He runs after us when we don’t return the feelings, when we reject Him, when we cheat on Him by allowing other things to capture the affection of our heart.
God’s love fights for you
God’s love is not passive. Definition: accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance.
God’s love will search for you and fight until you are found.
God’s love pays for you
God’s love has paid for everything! He paid for our freedom, our forgiveness and our healing. He came to pay a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.
So how can knowing all this about God’s love make a difference in our life?
Well, you need to accept it. God’s love for you is not dependant on what you’ve done. It’s in spite of what you’ve done. Next, you need to respond to it – God’s love demands a response. The only question you will have to answer when you stand before God is, “What did you with my Son Jesus?” What did you do about the sacrifice He made for you?
If you would like to know more about this great love or if you are ready to respond to it, click on the link below or on the pop up.