What Does God's Unfailing Love Look Like for a Broken World?
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Our world is filled with brokenness. Relationships breaking down, failing systems of government, violence and war, sickness and disease and so much more are indicators that things in this world are not the way they are supposed to be. There is a longing to make sense of our world and to make it right.
When everything looks like it could fail, is there anything or anyone that can give us that sense of security and make our broken world right? The answer can be found in God’s unfailing love.
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What Is Unfailing Love?
God’s unfailing love or steadfast love is who He is. In 1 John 4:8 it says that “God is love” - it is His very nature. This steadfast, unfailing love can only be met in God Himself who is love. His love for us is clearly demonstrated through the death and resurrection of Jesus, for when we were still far away and enemies of God, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). This love is what makes reconciliation with God possible, it is what has defeated the power of sin and death and it empowers us to live with that same love today.
The steadfast and faithful love of God remains and endures, even when we do not. This is seen time and time again in the Bible where God’s people fell into sin and turned their backs on God, yet God continued to stand by His people. We all fail and make mistakes against ourselves, each other and ultimately against God. As the psalmist David wrote after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge” (Psalm 51:4).
In 1 John 4:19, it says “we love because He first loved us.” We can love others, but we are still fallible sinners who get things wrong and hurt people at times. However, God’s love does not change for He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The greatest demonstration of God’s love for the world is found in the person of Jesus and His work on the cross.
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The Cross as the Ultimate Unfailing Act of Love
“God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
This unfailing love is demonstrated through Jesus dying on the cross for all of mankind.
It was only God Himself who could deal with unfaithful and sinful people and the power of sin and death in our broken world. Jesus loves us with an unfailing love because He is love.
It is up to every individual whether or not they will turn away from their sin and believe and trust in Jesus, who out of love for us in our fallen, helpless, sin-filled state, died for each one of us. His blood paid the penalty that our sins deserved so that we would not have to experience the full and just wrath of God who hates sin.
We are free when we receive what He did for us on the cross through repenting of our sin and following Him with our life. Jesus is the greatest hope for our broken world. So what does the broken body of Jesus means for our broken world?
1. There Is Hope Now and Always
When we repent of our sin and put our trust in Jesus, we no longer face the just penalty of what our sins deserve as Jesus paid the price at the cross. We are promised the Holy Spirit which will be with us forever to help us on earth, and we have the hope of eternal life with God forever, so death is not the end of our story. We do not need to fear abandonment or that God will let us down. He promises to be with us always and His love never fails.
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2. The Brokenness Found in This Life Will Not Be Forever
Jesus defeated the power of sin and death on the cross. God will execute justice in His final judgement and evil will end. When we trust in Jesus, we have the hope of eternal life where we will be with Him forever. His broken body has made a way for us to have glorious resurrection bodies and the temporary pain we endure in this world will be no more. One day, Jesus will return to usher in a new heaven and earth where there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain and He will make all things new (Revelation 21:4-5).
3. We Can Find Forgiveness and Peace in Jesus
We often shoulder the burdens of our own sin and the anxieties and frustrations of others. Yet Jesus takes that from us. We were not meant to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. Any shame or guilt we feel can be confessed before God because Jesus has reconciled us to Himself. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can live a life that is holy and pleasing to Him. When we stumble and fall, we are caught in the immeasurable grace found in Jesus and He helps us to turn away from sin.
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Prayer and Meditation on the Truth of God’s Unfailing Word
As we look around us and see the brokenness in our own lives, our communities, our nation and our world, it is an opportunity to pray to God whose unfailing love, through Jesus, heals those who are brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3).
We can come to Him knowing that He hears us and that “because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail” (Lamentations 3:22). Let us reflect on the wonderful truth of God’s unfailing love by reading the following verses:
“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation” (Psalm 13:5).
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life” (Psalm 143:8).
“May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant” (Psalm 119:76).
“No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you” (Psalm 33:16-22).
“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” (Romans 8:38–39).
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3).
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1-2).
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Ruth Clemence is a wife, mom, writer and Premier Digital award-winning blogger based in South West England. Read more at: ruthclemence.com and follow her on Twitter: @ruth_the_writer.
