Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to Joni and Friends.
Okay, I’ve got a question for you. You’ve done this before: have you ever looked in the mirror and thought, “Ew… yuck!” Well, I tell you what, I sure have. Since I’ve turned 60 years old, I’ve got the hairs on the chin… I’ve got those little lines above my lip… I’ve got the wrinkles?! I sound like Rosanna – Rosanna Danna – there. But you know how it is… I wish I had the same gut reaction when it comes to holding a mirror up to my soul. When I have been brave enough to do that (especially using God’s Word as that mirror), when I’ve done that I have thought, “God, how can you stand me? I am so lazy, I am so fickle, my soul is so ugly, I’m so prone to turn my back on you given half the chance.”
And to me, this is why Deuteronomy 7:7-8 is so comforting. “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers.” In other words, God did not choose us because we were the hot ticket. Friend, I’m sorry to report, but there is absolutely nothing in you or me to attract or prompt the affections of God. Oh, sure, a person might love someone else because of his great looks or his way with words or the way she relates to people. Love like that is prompted because of something in that other person.
But the love of God is not like that, and that verse in Deuteronomy proves it. Unlike us, God’s love is so free and spontaneous. God has loved you and me from everlasting and therefore nothing in us can be the cause of what already existed in God’s heart from the very beginning of time. Second Timothy 1:9 explains that God “has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” That’s a great verse!
And here is the good news: God loved us when we were loveless and this means his affection is completely uninfluenced by us. Aren’t you glad for that? Contrary to what we might think at times, we do not have God wrapped around our little finger. Our winsome ways do not impress him. He’s not influenced by us. His love comes barreling at us at full speed in a direct line, with all its force, undiminished and undaunted, as much love for you as the most godly of saints. Come to think of it, it’s the way he loves… Jesus. Amazing love, how can it be that he has that kind of love for us?!
And what’s more amazing is that there is everything in us to repel God. Sinful, depraved, wicked us – everything calculated to make him absolutely loathe us. I mean, it says in the Bible, “No good thing” dwells in us, yet thankfully, even that does not influence the Lord. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful and wicked above all things,” but God is not swayed. Rather, he says in Jeremiah 31, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Oh, friend, that we would think more about his love, and I’d like to have you join me in meditating on the everlasting love of God this week. I want to give you this beautiful laminated fold-out that highlights the names of Jesus Christ – each name is a reminder of God’s love toward you. You can get your free copy just by visiting me at joniandfriendsradio.org today; again that’s joniandfriendsradio.org. Think about it: since his love for you has no beginning, that means it has no ending. So until next time on Joni and Friends, join me in thanking him that he keeps drawing us with his forever-kind-of-love.
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