Sermon Snippet – God Remembers to Love Us
INTRODUCTION – If nothing else, this message will remind the men that Valentine’s Day is on the doorstep and that the women expect us to remember it…and them! In Genesis 8:1, 19:29, and 30:22-24, we read that God remembered Noah, Abraham, and Rachel. This statement does not mean that God forgot them – He cannot. Rather, it indicates that God is about to fulfill a promise, as Psalm 106:4 exclaims and exults: “Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that Thou bearest unto Thy people: O visit me with Thy salvation!” God can be counted on to remember us; He can be trusted to remember to love us.
1. GOD’S LOVE IS ORIGINAL
II Corinthians 13:11-14 speaks of “the God of love” (verse 11) before it speaks of “the love of God.” This Biblical order reveals that love is an intrinsic characteristic of God. Truly, “God is love” (I John 4:8, 16). We do not need to hope that God is in a good mood; we do not have to convince Him to love us. It is a natural thing for Him to love us. From our perspective, it is, of course, supernatural; but from His view, it is natural, reflecting exactly Who He is. This love is original in that it originates in Him (I John 4:19), not in us.
2. GOD’S LOVE IS TANGIBLE
Romans 5:8 emphasizes this truth: “But God commendeth [demonstrates] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Yes, God the Son, Jesus Christ, poured out His life as a demonstration of His love. Real love must be shown. I John 4:9-10 echoes this key point. Truly God remembers to love us, for He has fulfilled His promise to provide salvation for us.
3. GOD’S LOVE IS IMMUTABLE
Because God is unchanging, everything about Him is likewise immutable. Thus, His love is invariable. One of the most stunning statements in Scripture is found in John 17:23, where Jesus says that God the Father “hast loved them, as Thou hast love Me.” The Father loves believers “even as” (New International Version, New American Standard) He loves the Son – that is, in the same way, with the same immutable intensity!
4. GOD’S LOVE IS UNFAILING
I Corinthians 13:4-8 tells us that love “never faileth” – oh, but our love so often does. We are beset by peevishness and pettiness, by anger and arguments (at least, that is what I have heard from other married people – I can’t speak from personal experience!). However, we can not equate our love and God’s love. Only the One Who is love, Who always demonstrates His love, and Who is unchanging can and will love with an unfailing love.
5. GOD’S LOVE IS ETERNAL
In Jeremiah 31:3b, God unequivocally states, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” Since He is eternal, it is logical that His love is also eternal. This lavish love is undeserved, but it is not uncertain, not at all. The prophet-poet Isaiah put it this way: “Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.” We can put all of our transgressions behind us, as well, for the everlasting love of our Saviour God will never waver. His love sets us free to live differently and to love deeply.
CONCLUSION – Let us return to Psalm 106:4 and add verse 5 as we close the message today: “Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that Thou bearest unto Thy people: O visit me with Thy salvation; that I may see the good of Thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Thy nation, that I may glory with Thine inheritance.” The powerful purpose of God’s love is to bring each one of us to “salvation.” He will not force His love upon us, for compulsion is not compassion. Love is a choice, and each individual must choose to “rejoice” in Jesus’ saving love or to reject it – and Him. Please be sure today of life eternal in heaven through faith in Jesus. Then, may we “glory” in God’s love to all believers, to His everlasting “inheritance.”