Verse of the Day - Psalm 89:2

I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
~ Psalm 89:2 (NIV)

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I recently passed my 25th anniversary on my job at UC Davis Medical Center. And I realize that I have worked there longer than I haven't, since I started when I was 21 years old! (yeah, I know -- I just revealed my age to all those math majors out there :-) I guess you could say that's loyalty.

Truth is, there've been many, many times I was ready for another job, something different. But, as you know, the longer you invest yourself in a company, the harder it is to leave. Benefits, retirement, etc., play a part in the decision to stay or go. So sometimes it's not loyalty that keeps people where they are, but rather simple practicality.

Well, fortunately for the human race, God isn't like us. If His love for us was based on practicality, we'd be sunk. Because, in case you hadn't noticed, humanity is a huge liability for God! Not only did we walk away from God, but we got ourselves stuck in the quicksand of sin. So God signed, sealed and delivered the Great Global Bailout in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. For all of our liabilities, He gave His greatest asset. So, for the believer in Jesus, we are rescued from the power of sin and death because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Yet, we still sin. We still rebel. We're still a liability! Practicality would look down the ages and say this bunch of ding-dongs is worthless -- clean up a pig, and they still wallow in the mud. Just as a banker doesn't keep throwing good money after bad, it just doesn't make good sense to throw good love after bad.

And yet...

We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. ~ Romans 5:7-8 (The Msg)

God's love for us isn't dependent on our righteousness. It's not dependent on our ability to even receive it. God's love was forged in the fire of eternity -- something that's hard for us to even get our arms around. He is loyal to His love...and He determined before the foundation of the world to love us . . . before we were born, as we walk this earth, and on into eternity. His love never fails.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
~ Psalm 100:5 (NIV)

Our God is an awesome God! Let's thank Him every day for not being practical with us, lest humanity be handed over to the devil for our sinful ways. His loyalty to the men and women of the earth is driven by His faithful love, which can never die. No one can love like He loves. I hope that causes all of us bow ours head in humble gratitude to our Eternal Father, who is full of never-ending love.

Love,
Joelene