JEREMIAH 31:3
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.”
In his book, Make Your Life Worthwhile, Richard Armstrong shares the story of a man in Wales who
sought to win the affection of a certain woman for 42 years before she finally said yes. Year after year
the persistent but rather shy man slipped a weekly love letter under his neighbor’s door.
But she continually refused to speak and mend the spat that had parted them decades before. After
writing 2,184 love letters without ever getting a spoken or written answer, the single-hearted old man
eventually summoned up enough courage to present himself in person. He knocked on the door of the
reluctant lady and asked for her hand. To his delight and surprise, she accepted.
One has to wonder at God’s attitude toward Israel. Over the centuries, He has pursued this obstinate
group of people with very little encouragement. Certainly there have been individuals like Abraham,
Moses and David who walked with Him, but for the most part His efforts have been rebuffed.
Hardly would one generation wake up to their need for the Lord before the next would thumb their
noses at Him again. Why would God persist in this lopsided relationship? Jeremiah says it’s because
of God’s everlasting love.
Even today, Christians often fall far short of the righteousness that ought to characterize our lives. We
become entangled with the things of the world; we fall into immorality; we bicker and fight among
ourselves. Yet when we repent and seek God, He always receives us back. Why? Because He loves us
with an everlasting love.
If you feel you’ve failed God once too often, if you’re ready to toss in the towel, remember God’s
everlasting love. It’s not a love just for the days you do everything right. It’s not a love only for those
people who have it all together. It’s an everlasting love–and it’s for you.
NEVER GIVE UP ON GOD BECAUSE HE NEVER GIVES UP ON YOU.
WOODROW KROLL
www.backtothebible.in