04/04/Su – The Faithful Love of God

Psalms: “Lord, your faithful love reaches to heaven, your faithfulness to the clouds.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭36:5‬ ‭CSB)

The title/description of this psalm in the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) is “Human Wickedness and God’s Love.” Today is Easter Sunday… Resurrection Sunday. What better day is there to write about God’s love in the midst of human wickedness. David wrote that the Lord’s faithful love reaches to heaven. The Hebrew word translated as “faithful love” in the CSB is the word ‘checed.’ Checed is God’s zealous mercy, goodness and faithful covenantal love towards us. While God only gives His grace to those who honor Him, He has checed for everyone. By saying that the Lord’s faithful love reaches to heaven, David was saying that the Lord’s checed is as vast and immeasurable as the universe. In all of humanity’s advancements in science and technology, no one has reached the limits of the universe nor explored its vast depths – and the Lord’s goodness and faithful love is more vast and unending than that. David also said that the Lord’s faithfulness reaches to the clouds. The Hebrew word for faithfulness means steadfastness and fidelity. The Lord is steadfastly faithful to His word – and just like the clouds, His faithfulness covers the earth. It was from the clouds that God gave a sign of His covenant with all mankind in the form of a rainbow – and God is faithful to His covenant until the end of the age. God promised to bless the nations of the world through the family of Abraham and His promise was fulfilled to all the world through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

In the 3rd chapter of John, Jesus explained to Nicodemus that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son so that everyone (sinners and righteous alike) who believed in Him would have eternal life. Paul later wrote this in the 5th Chapter of Romans: “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:8-10‬ ‭CSB) Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Son, the faithful love of God was expressed and the faithfulness of God was fulfilled. Through Jesus’ death, all who believe are redeemed from sin and reconciled to God. Through Jesus’ resurrection, all who believe are saved from sin and death and given new life in Christ. Hallelujah!

Prayer: Lord, what David wrote thousands of years ago still rings true today. Your faithful love to all humanity is immeasurable and unending. Your steadfast faithfulness to Your word covers all. I thank you that even when I was a sinner and unworthy of salvation, because of Your faithful love, You sent Jesus to live the life that I should have lived and die the death that I should have died in my place. I also thank You that through Christ’s resurrection, I too can have new life in Him through faith. Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe – so I give my all to Him. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.