“Is Ephraim not my favored son, the child in whom I delight? Even though I threaten him, I must still remember him! My heart stirs for him, I must show him compassion!—oracle of the LORD.”

Jeremiah 31:20

God loves us and has called us into relationship with Him. Often, we hear that the “God of the Old Testament” is harsh and unloving, but in truth, God has always loved us, from the beginning. In fact, He loved us into existence. We are the only creatures that He created for our own sake. That means we were created simply to be loved by Him and to love Him in return. God does not have “use” for us as if we were objects that benefit Him. On the contrary, God’s relationship to us is more like that of a father to a child. A small child is helpless and cannot do anything without his parents. The father has no “use” for the child. The benefit that the father receives from his relationship with his child is that he is able to love the child and hope that one day the child will love him in return.

Sometimes it is difficult to see how God is loving us, but He is always there for us, always loving us. In fact, He sustains us in His love. If God stopped loving us for even a second, we would cease to exist. But instead, God has loved us into existence and sustains our life every second.

God showed the ultimate act of love for us in Christ’s becoming man. Romans 5:8 speaks of God showing His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. It is a heroic deed to die for a loyal friend or family member, but to die for someone who has wronged you is almost impossible. This is the ultimate way that we know God loves us no matter what! If He died for us while we were in sin, of course He will forgive our sins now.