The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
Jeremiah 31:3
Have you ever won a door prize or any other kind of prize? If so, do you remember how giddy you felt when you realized you had matched all the numbers? Do you remember the excitement in your steps as you stepped forth to claim your reward? How about the big smile you wore on your face, as everyone in the room turned to congratulate you on your win. It is a great feeling to be a winner!
Speaking to the people of Israel, the prophet Jeremiah reminds them of God’s eternal love for them. God appeared in some eternal past declaring: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving–kindness.” This declaration is in the past-perfect tense. It is a decision God made prior and independent of any qualification on their part. God chose to love them. It was like winning heaven’s “lottery.”
God is unchanging. God is love. The Bible reminds us that God chose to love us while we were yet sinners (John 3:16). He made us the object of his love before we were formed in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5). This thought is so incomprehensible that it causes the Psalmist to ask: “what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:4). For a holy God to care for mere mortals makes us all winners. We have won the door prize to heaven. This truth alone should make us giddy.
God loves us, and the angels in heaven celebrate and cheer our win. Lottery winnings are temporary. God’s love is forever.
May we bask in his love this week and may those we serve, and love, experience the overflow.