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[Moses said:] “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all people, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that He swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.” (Deuteronomy 7:6-9)
I love the way Moses talks to God’s people. This passage comes from his final speech to the people of Israel just before he dies. Moses is telling them the most important things he can, in hopes that they will remember them forever.
And what does he say to them? “God has chosen you. You are God’s holy people, His treasure, the ones He wants to be His own. God didn’t choose you because you were a great and mighty nation—He knows exactly how weak you were, and are! No, God chose you because He loves you. He loves you because that’s the way He is.”
God hasn’t changed. All these years later, He still chooses people to belong to Him forever—everyone who trusts in His Son, Jesus Christ our Savior. He is the One who suffered and died for our sake, to set us free from our slavery to evil. Now that He has risen from the dead, Jesus gives freedom, life, and the right to become children of God to everyone who trusts in Him. And so now we too are God’s people. We are forgiven. We are loved.
Why does He do all this for us? Not because we’re so great, or so strong, or so famous or powerful or wonderful. God’s love isn’t based on any of our characteristics. No, God loves us because that’s the way He is.
Jesus never changes. We change, yes—we fall into sin, again and again, and have to repent daily. And sometimes that makes us worry about whether God still loves us. But we really don’t have to. God’s love for us rests on His own nature, not on ours. So we don’t need to worry that He’s going to stop loving us. He won’t. He can’t. He will never get sick of us and give up on us, because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
WE PRAY: Dear Lord, thank You that You never change. Help me to trust in Your love even when I’m tempted to doubt it. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- Do you ever doubt God’s love for you? If so, at what times?
- How do you know God loves you? (Hint: What has He done for you?)
- Jesus has made you part of His own body, and intends to bring you into His kingdom to be with you forever. What does that tell you about how close He wants to be to you?
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