Day 10
The LORD has appeared of old to me saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” (Jeremiah 31:3)
With lovingkindness, God draws us to Himself. As amazing as it sounds, God who created the universe wants to be with you. Regardless of your position in life, your religion, or your sins, you—exactly as you are right now—are cherished by God.
You are not a project to God. His goal is not to have you act certain ways or believe certain doctrines. God doesn’t just love you and put up with you; He actually likes you and delights in being with you.
Each member of the Trinity works together, in love, to draw us into love.
God the Father had a plan to bring us back into His family. That plan involved sending His Son. “In this the love of God was manifest toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9).
God the Son came to earth as fully God and fully man to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Jesus stepped down from heaven and took our sin upon Himself. Then He died on the cross to free us forever from that sin. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Today God the Spirit works in you and me to reveal the Son’s complete accomplishment of the Father’s plan. The Holy Spirit wants you to know that Jesus has done everything required to bring you back into unity with God. He makes agape love real in living experience. “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).
Deep in the core of each of us is a desperate longing to be loved. Our souls were created to be adored and treasured in intimate, honest relationships. God designed the human race to grow and flourish in union with Him. Like two magnets when they are properly aligned attract each other, God’s love pulls us in and holds us close in life-giving, soul-satisfying union.
But, if we are blind to God’s lovingkindness, we will resist Him. No one wants to be with someone who they think is aloof and distant or demanding and fault-finding. We avoid such people. And if we wrongly believe God to be this way, we will avoid Him too.
Like two magnets when they are misaligned push each other apart, our misunderstanding of God keeps us from Him.
But in Jesus, we hear God welcoming us. Standing on a hill above the holy city, Jesus cried out, “Oh Jerusalem…. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37).
Can you hear the passion in His voice? Can you feel His longing? Think of a mother hen spreading her wings wide to cover and protect her brood of little chicks. Jesus doesn’t want you trying to survive on your own. He wants you coming to Him, resting in the security and strength of His arms and knowing that you are accepted.
Jesus doesn’t point accusing fingers. He doesn’t clench angry fists. His arms are not folded tight across His chest; they are spread wide in welcome. He wants you.
Wherever you are today, God is calling you. “Come to Me. Lay down the burden of your do’s and don’ts. Lay down your efforts to make yourself acceptable. Give up the hurtful, untrue thoughts you hold about yourself and about Me. Please, I’m here for you. I desire you. Come and rest in My love.”
Ponder for a Moment
What do you feel when you hear God’s words, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you”?
How might your life have been different if you had known from early on that you were loved and valued, treasured, and adored?
How might your life be different going forward if you embrace the truth of God’s love for you?