Love with no limits
God’s character is love, and that means that all of His attributes will be motivated by love. No strings, no conditions, no prerequisites.
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. (1 John 4:16)
Does motivation matter in gift-giving?
I think it does. It’s not that I don’t appreciate being given an obligatory gift, but it certainly means more when it comes from someone who does it out of love. I was reflecting the other day about a gift I was given when I finished a particularly challenging manuscript. I had worked very hard on it, night and day, and my friend bought me a celebratory nerdy t-shirt. Not because she had to but because she wanted to acknowledge the work I’d done. She wanted to celebrate me finishing something that mattered to me. That meant the world to me. It was so much more than just a nerdy t-shirt.
Motivation matters. If someone buys you flowers or presents for your birthday and they do it out of obligation, what does it mean? Is it love?
We know God is love. Even people who don’t believe in God know that He is love, but what does it mean to be motivated by love? How does being a loving person dictate how you will choose to act in any given situation?
Obviously, actions and choices will vary from person to person in situation to situation, but ultimately when you know that a friend or a relative or anyone is acting out of love (real, actual, true love … not the nasty stuff the world calls love), generally you can trust them. You need to be careful with people, of course, because human love can get messy and complicated. We’re broken. But when we’re talking about God’s love, His love is perfect. His love is true. His love is what should define love for all of us.
I think the Hebrew word hesed is my favorite word in the Bible. Trying to transliterate Hebrew is always a challenge. Some spell it hesed. Others spell it checed. It’s a fun word to say too, because that ch- sound comes from the back of the throat. Lots of phlegm.
Hesed is unfailing love. It’s steadfast love. Some translations say lovingkindness. There is no English or Greek equivalent to this word. It doesn’t translate. It is the kind of love that submits to each other, sacrifices for each other, wants the best for someone else, and is willing to be inconvenienced if it means showering kindness on another person. It has no strings. It has no conditions. It has no performance standards.
God’s character is hesed. God’s character is love, and that means that all of His attributes will be motivated by love. Not human love. God’s perfect love. Always faithful, never conditional, and not obligated.
Consider the freedom that gives us. We can rest. We can be at peace, knowing that everything God has ever done for us is out of perfect, steadfast love. (I think maybe I need to do a whole month of devotions on hesed. It’s too big for one devotion.)
God’s love won’t ever fail you. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or how far you’ve wandered off. It doesn’t matter if you’ve told God to leave you alone or if you’ve thumbed your nose at Him and broke every rule in the book.
He loves you. And because He doesn’t change, because He can’t lie, because He is all-everything, you can put your whole weight on that promise of love. Stop trying to earn it. Lean into it and let His love set you free from everything you fear.
Questions for Reflection
If you truly believed that God’s love is completely and totally unconditional, how would you life change?
When you love someone without strings, how do you treat them?
How is one way we can respond to God’s unconditional love in how we walk with Him?
Weekly Memory Verse
