Do you crave a love like what all the romantic songs and sweet quotes offer? “A love so deep the ocean would be jealous?” The kind that promises to always be faithful and never leave us? A kind that vows to know us intimately and cherish us always?

Isn’t this kind of love what makes us chase after romance and relationships – the kind of love we fear losing if our partner should be unfaithful to us – the kind we want to sink our hope into at the end of the day?

Don’t we long for someone to love us and only us – for them to know us deeply and truly, even our faults, and for them to keep loving us in spite of them?

Yes. We were made to be loved like that.

But the human version – even the best versions of it – will always be cracked and flawed. It will fall short of its promises. People will disappoint us. We will disappoint ourselves. We want to give that kind of love away – and we will sometimes – but our sin will still rise up and get in the way.

We won’t be the perfect lover. And we won’t ever get the perfect lover.

Except in One.

The One who never fails. The One who made us to be loved like that. And the One who stepped foot on this earth to close the gap between God and man so that we could be in a forever relationship with Him.

It was promised long, long ago – and there, nestled in Deuteronomy 7:9 – is the beauty of who God is:

“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.”

Covenant and steadfast love.

That’s the kind of love we most crave. A love that goes much deeper than our failings. A love that gives more than we ever could. A love that sacrificed everything to bring us to Him.

This is the kind of love that never fails and that could only come from God our Father – Jesus our Bridegroom – Holy Spirit who indwells us.

A love that looks deep into the trembling, wet eyes of a woman long an outcast and says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace” (Luke 8:48).

A love that dared to converse with those who had sordid pasts – who promised them living water, light in their dark places, shepherding from their wayward living, and eternal homes with Him.

A love that knows everything about us – even the things we can’t even admit to ourselves – and sets us free from the lies that pound our tired minds.

A love that binds up broken hearts, a love that guides us in the way of truth, and a love that gives us purpose for each new day.

This is the love that we most deeply crave. And it’s the love that we can have if we but turn to Christ and put our trust and faith in Him.

And yes, those who rest in this kind of love can reflect it to those around them and can bring tastes of it to God-given relationships.

But if we are given that kind of earthly love, may we never forget its source. May we never love the gift above the Giver, the image-bearer more than the image. May we accept it as a sweet foretaste of spending eternity with the greatest Lover of our souls and as a reminder of who He truly is.

And if we are not given that kind of earthly love, may we seek our Lord even more – pursuing His love with fervency and obedience. May we trust its presence and influence in our lives. And may we turn to it more than to false replacements of it. May we never buy the lie that if we are not given earthly love, then we are not loved at all.

For perhaps if we are passed over by human love, then we are given an extra measure of love from the Father, to comfort our hearts in ways that no one else will ever know about.

He promises to carry us on wings like eagles.

So take heart, my friend. In Him, all your cravings can be satisfied.

For He is the Author of all love. And He will surely never let you down.

 

Photo by Matt Hoffman on Unsplash.