Accepting Ever-lasting Love

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. – (1 John 4.8-10)

I was just recalling a week long business trip to New York City and though it has been over 11 years, I still can’t get used to the fact that the twin towers of the World Trade Center are forever gone. It seems like yesterday that I was on “Top of the World” looking out over the sea of tall buildings and the rivers and bridges and cars and masses of people that could be observed from the roof of the South Tower. For thirty years those twin towers dominated the New York City skyline – and now they’re gone.

But so much more than buildings collapsed that awful day when airliners became missiles and America itself became the target of terrorism. Thousands of lives came crashing down that day, too… the airline passengers, the World Trade Center and Pentagon workers, the rescuers who died trying to rescue – so many, gone in one awful violent day. And the countless loved ones, in some cases not knowing what happened to those they love, in all cases agonizing over the horrific circumstances of their death... and the lifelong scars on those heroic rescuers, recovery workers, and medical personnel who will always be haunted with the memories of what they have seen and experienced.

But the carnage and shock of September 11, 2001 has touched every American. Do you still remember how we were glued to our news channels, repeatedly horrified by the endless replays and unfolding details of unthinkable, indescribable scenes in places we thought indestructible and invulnerable? And just like the radio and TV commentators, we tried to put our feelings in words, but no words could really say it.

I remember vividly the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 – we thought that was unimaginable and the people living and working in New York City described themselves as feeling "Vulnerable” and “Violated”.

And that’s the feeling people were left with in the aftermath of 9/11 – violated and vulnerable. Our symbols of financial and military security as Americans had been attacked – and one is gone, the other was heavily damaged. We watched everyday people like us, doing things we do – passengers on a jetliner, folks at their jobs – suddenly wiped out en masse. We saw the lists of fatalities – including CEOs, Chief Operating Officers, high-profile lawyers and entertainment executives – and we realized that, like those who died on the Titanic, success and position mean nothing when death strikes suddenly, unexpectedly. We see our children trying to understand horrors a child cannot understand – let alone us parents who are trying to explain those horrors.

In situations like we experienced on 9/11 we do feel vulnerable. It's as if some of our sense of personal security and safety came crashing down with those majestic towers. The banner headline of a local newspaper screamed, "Forever changed", and they were right. One woman said, "I'm scared"... one man said, "It feels like things are out of control."

If you are like me and so many others I know, the events of September 11 softened my heart and caused me to do some soul-searching – and re-evaluating.  While the events were horrific, the questions we were asking – and ought to be asking right now – could, indeed, leave us "forever changed" – for the better. Questions like, "What are the things that really matter and the things that really don't – and which ones have I been living for?"... "What have I got that will really last – no matter what tragedy comes crashing into my life?"... "Am I ready for eternity, no matter how suddenly my time comes?"

When events like 9/11 occur, we see how suddenly our towers can come crashing down, how quickly what I've built and who I've loved can all be gone – in a moment. And our hearts are hungry for something we can anchor to... for something to sustain us when the bad news is more than we can bear... for something that will make us really safe.

When our President addressed the nation on this generation's "day of infamy," he alluded to the one Source of comfort and hope in moments like these. He quoted from that treasured 23rd Psalm found in the best-selling book of all times, the Bible – “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me." – (Psalm 23.4)

Life has many "vulnerable" moments – when you lose your job, when you lose someone you love, when your marriage or your parents' marriage collapses, when the medical report is unsettling. Maybe you are going through one of those times right now. And maybe you are going through that "valley of the shadow of death" – that is, by far, life's most vulnerable moment. Yet the Bible, the word of God, holds out to you and me a security that can keep you safe even in that valley – and no matter what else comes crashing down in your life.

That security is a Relationship, a Person – “You are with me, Lord."  You see, all our lives we have been hungry for one thing… enduring love… steadfast love… ever-lasting love… "unloseable" love, just as King Solomon wrote centuries ago, “What a man desires is unfailing love” – (Proverbs 19.11) Deep down inside that is what we all want… what we all yearn for… what we all need. And there really only is One. It's the love of the One who made you... the One who you will meet on the other side of your last heartbeat... the One whose love caused Him to literally lay down His life for you (John 15.12-13; Romans 5.8; Galatians 2.20). This is the greatest truth in all of Scripture and the point of our key Scripture text: God is love. Understanding this in its full dimensions will set you free to enjoy all that is yours as a child of God, no matter what kind of vulnerable moments are happening in and around your life. But – you must believe, know and accept that God loves you.

If you grew up experiencing unconditional love in your family, this may not be a difficult concept for you. However, if your early years were void of love, you may find this truth hard to accept. God loves you, not because you deserve His love, not because of anything you have done or ever will do, but because His nature is love. And please understand this – the only way He will ever relate to you is in love. His love for you gives you an inherent worth that nothing can change or diminish. You didn’t make you that way – He did!

Now if you cannot accept the truth that God loves you, you will be limited in how you can relate to Him. When He disciplines you, for instance, you will not take it as an expression of His love. Rather, you may dread Him or resent Him. When God says “no” to a request that is less than His best for you, you will conclude that He doesn't care about you. Without a clear understanding and acceptance of God's love for you, you will be disoriented to Him and to what He wants to do in your life. If you will accept God's love, however, you will be able to return love to God – as well as to others (1 John 4.19).

You see the safety our heart longs for is found in the arms of Jesus Christ. In God's own words, “Nothing will ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – (Romans 8.39) But in your vulnerable moments, your moments that are more than you can handle alone – those moments when you've gone seeking God – maybe you've realized that there is something that is separating you from Him. The Bible confirms that all the wrong things we've ever done have actually "separated you from your God." – (Isaiah 59.2) This “sin” – our hijacking of a life that God was supposed to run – cuts us off from the very God whose love is our only safe place.

But that's why Jesus came. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” – (John 3.16-17) Now all Jesus is waiting for is for you to grab His outreached hand like a person trapped in the wreckage would grab the hand of a rescuer – and trust Him with your very life – forever. You can do that now, this very day.

You see Jesus liked to use the word "everlasting" to describe the kind of life and love He wants to give you. We have been reminded so powerfully by the crashing down of those two World Trade Center towers that nothing earth has to offer is ever-lasting. Now is the time your heart should be turning to the only One who is – so you can know that you have a love you can never lose... a security that can never be shaken... and that you're ready for eternity, whenever it comes.  No religion can even offer that kind of security or everlasting life and love, it is only found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Are you experiencing the profound sense of joy and security that comes from knowing you are dearly loved by God – with an ever-lasting love? Being assured of God's love for you sets you free to enjoy the numerous expressions of love He showers upon you each and every day. You're vulnerable no more when you run to the safest place in all the world – “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and they are safe." – (Proverbs 18.10) If you want to know more about how to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ, please just contact me today – His love is ever-lasting!

For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent. – (John 17.2-3)

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” – (Jeremiah 31.3)

In a nutshell – in Him,

Web Shepherd