Friday, August 2, 2024

Scripture:

Ephesians 1: 3-14

Questions to Consider:

What does it mean that the Father adopted us in love?
How does it change our love that God’s love is covenantal?

Reflection:

We close this “lovely” week out with the final facet we will cover. The love of God is covenantal. There are many passages we could turn to develop this thought but Ephesians 1 is perhaps the best.

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1: 5-6

The love of God that adopted us into his family as his children was based on his will and guaranteed with a promise, sealed with a covenant. As we have moved through Genesis I hope we have all seen many times that God’s love was not conditioned upon the faithfulness of the people, because little of that was found, but rather always on his promise to love, according to his will.

This is a great comfort to us because it is so unlike the natural way we think love works. As was alluded to yesterday we often stop loving because of unfaithfulness or hurt. Our love lasts only as long as the one we love doesn’t do anything to contradict our love. This is a circumstantial love, and a very conditional love. This is not how God loves us. He loves us and commits to that love by making a promise that he will always love us and nothing circumstantial or behavioral will ever change that. This is because his love is conditioned not on faithfulness but on a promise.

This must bring us incredible joy to know that if we are in Christ, we are loved and because of his promise we will never be unloved. Even if every other creature decides to not love us, the love of God will never change. It is sealed forever in his promise.

The second thing this must do is teach us how to love. We are to love as God’s love and that is based on a promise. Will you promise to love those whom God has given you and make a covenant with those people to love them no matter what? “But how can I do that when I don’t know what they may do to me, or how they may hurt me?” Admittedly in a fallen world, as sinful humans, there are certain unforeseen circumstances that make continued love next to impossible but those are the exception not the rule.

The rule should be to love as God has loved us. To promise to love regardless of circumstance and to stay, till death temporarily parts us with those we love. Remember 1 Corinthians 13 is not just to be read at weddings. It’s to be read around the dinner table, with the boys on the porch, and with the ladies at the coffee shop. God has promised to love us, may we love as we have been loved.