Love That Was Never a Backup Plan
A devotional for Monday
Scripture:
“Long ago the Lord said to Israel: ‘I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.’”
Jeremiah 31:3 (NLT)
Reflection:
God’s love did not begin when humanity failed; it began before humanity ever existed. From creation itself, God bound Himself to people through covenant, not obligation. This matters because it tells us something crucial about God’s character: love is not something God does when things go wrong. It is who God is. Too often we imagine God responding to our sin rather than pursuing us in love long before it. But Scripture tells a different story, one where God initiates relationship again and again. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses were not reactions; they were revelations of God’s intention. God never said, “I will love you if…” He said, “I have always loved you.” That kind of love doesn’t panic when we wander. It doesn’t withdraw when we doubt. It doesn’t disappear when we struggle. God’s love is intentional, unwavering, and freely given. When we understand this, it shifts how we relate to God, not as someone trying to earn affection, but as someone learning to receive it.
Question:
Where in your life are you still living as if God’s love is conditional, and what would change if you truly believed it never was?