God's Love

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,  
  for His steadfast love endures forever.  
Give thanks to the God of gods,  
  for His steadfast love endures forever.  
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,  
  for His steadfast love endures forever;  
to Him who alone does great wonders,  
  for His steadfast love endures forever;  
to Him who by understanding made the heavens,  
  for His steadfast love endures forever;  
to Him who spread out the earth above the waters,  
  for His steadfast love endures forever;  
to Him who made the great lights,  
  for His steadfast love endures forever;  
the sun to rule over the day,  
  for His steadfast love endures forever;  
the moon and stars to rule over the night,  
  for His steadfast love endures forever;  

Psalm 136:1-9

There's more to the stories than just peddling plastic action figures or dressing up pre-school princesses in tulle and tiaras. Long before Mr. Disney and his crew had a "Magic Kingdom," folks all over the world knew of Briar Rose and Belle and the Fairy Godmother. In fact, the earliest rendition of the Cinderella story comes from Greek theater sometime between 4 BC and 28 AD. Sleeping Beauty nodded off over 400 years ago, and that's the same time Belle first fell for her Beast. Yet even the modern renditions like Shrek and The Little Mermaid and Snow White proclaim the same universal message, the same deep-seated belief of humanity— true love changes us.

Love that's real and pursuing and fierce will awaken our hearts. That kind of love will change us from a scullery maid into a princess, from a beast to a prince. It will make us alive. It will make us new.

But those stories are dim reflections of the real story of that kind of love. It's that kind of transforming love that runs like a golden thread through the entire tapestry of Scripture. You see, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have shared that kind of love from before time. And when we are in Christ, we are invited into that relationship, invited to receive that kind of love. (John 17:24-26)

God's love is steadfast. That means it's strong. His love is not whimsical or capricious or transient. And He loves you steadfastly in Christ. Nothing in all creation will separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

God's love is enduring. No matter where you've come from and no matter how fickle you may be, in Christ God will love you. He will search you out, He will find you. And He will love you in a pandemic, or a layoff, or a cancer. Fiercely.

God's love is forever. And so much more than just, "happily ever after," in Christ our eternal peace with God is secured. The future is known and begins right now. Even death does not change that. (Romans 8:35-39)

So, the real questions for us, for me and for you today, are not simply, "Do you believe in Jesus? or "Do you assent to the truths of the Bible?" The real question is, "Will you let God's steadfast, enduring, forever love change you?" God loves you, sinner. And His love will change you. His love will make you new.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:16-17)