Leviticus 15-16

Matthew 27:1-26

“[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 
—1 Corinthians 13:7-8

The opening verse of this devotion is a beautiful reminder that God’s love is relentless. His love always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres and never fails. It echoes what the psalmist wrote in Psalm 23:6, “Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” If we have a prodigal son or daughter in our life, do not give up on them. Continue to pray for them, love on them and hold them up to our heavenly Father who is in the business of chasing people down with His love.

As I (Brett McBride) think of love’s tenacity, I am reminded of a young man that I worked with in Urban Promise. When he was a kid, he was the most difficult junior high that I had ever worked with in my life. By God’s grace, this kid gave his life to Jesus Christ in his high school years and was a completely different person. I had never seen a bigger transformation. He got straight A’s in school, became the valedictorian of his high school and won a full scholarship to university. I remember doing a Bible study with him when he was 17 years old and asked a room full of youth the question, “What first drew you to Jesus?” The kid mumbled an answer and I said, “Sorry, what did you say?” He said, “Acceptance.” I pressed, “What do you mean?” He continued, “When I was younger, I used to strategize ways to get under your skin. I would go home and think of ways that I could really push you people away. But you guys just kept coming. No matter how hard I tried to push you away, you were relentless. You kept pursuing me. It was at that moment that I knew that God’s love was different. It was His acceptance that first drew me to Him. I know that He wouldn’t abandon me but that He accepted me. He came in and everything changed. He transformed my life. I could just come just as I was.”

When Christ comes into our life, He accepts and welcomes us just as we are, but in His love, He does not leave us that way. He begins to shape something new in us. For some of us reading this devotion, we may be like the young man, playing games with God, running the opposite direction and doing everything we can to resist His work in our life. But the reality is that while we are rebelling against God, He is relentlessly pursuing us. May we turn to Him and marvel at how His tireless love not only captures us but also changes us.

Lord God, thank You for relentlessly pursuing me. While I was running the opposite direction and resisting Your work in my life, You never gave up on me. Praise You!