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Jeremiah 31: 1-7
At that time, says the LORD,
I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel,
and they shall be my people.
Thus says the LORD:
The people that escaped the sword
have found favor in the desert.
As Israel comes forward to be given his rest,
the LORD appears to him from afar:
With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.
Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin Israel;
Carrying your festive tambourines,
you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.
Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
those who plant them shall enjoy the fruits.
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen
will call out on Mount Ephraim:
“Rise up, let us go to Zion,
to the LORD, our God.”
For thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.
The Word of the Lord.
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It’s amazing how many different views people have about God. Their answers can be as far as the East is from the West.
Some believe that God is distant, even absent. Others believe that he’s a stickler for rules; he’s a judge who weighs our sins and is somehow out to get us.
Others treat him like a vending machine; you go to God when you need something.
But Jesus tells us to call God, “Abba,” which means, “Daddy.” Or, “Papa.” Every human being has the opportunity to experience intimacy with God – an intimacy that transcends even the deepest human relationship – because God loves us.
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In our first reading, the prophet Jeremiah describes God’s love for us as, “age-old.” In Hebrew, this word means, “unchanging; without end.” There is neither a beginning nor an end to God’s love for us.
As the Lord says previously through Jeremiah, “I knew you – I loved you – before I formed you in your mother’s womb” (Jeremiah 1:5).
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So, what does this mean?
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That there is nothing we can do to earn God’s love. Nor is there anything we can do to end it.
When we’re stuck in the valley of our own darkness – when we’re mired in sin – God loves us.
When we doubt his existence; when we live life on our own terms; when we forget to pray… God loves us.
When we cry out in our need; when we serve Him in our neighbor; or when we praise Him for his goodness… God loves us – but no more or less than when we don’t.
His love is “age-old,” unchanging, unearned, without beginning or end.
Perhaps that’s something to bring to prayer today: Wherever you are on your journey, God is with you … and he loves you.
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Image credits: (1) iStock (2) 123RF (3) Julie Lefebure