“Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.” (Isaiah 44:21)
The greatest privilege of a life is to be like God. Before we can be as lovely and loving as He is, we must behold His beauty. Who is this God who calls us into His fellowship, to share His glory, to reflect His beauty? He is a holy God who is wonderfully different from sinful man. His response to suffering is not ours. He does not repay evil with evil. He does not do to us what we do to Him. His great heart of mercy and kindness overcomes the instinct to retaliate. He is patient and longsuffering and He seeks to win us with an amazing demonstration of love and grace.
We have so much to learn from our wonderful and beautiful God. As we face suffering, He calls us to Himself, to sit at His feet, to discover that He knows how we feel because He suffers too. We want to be loved, so does He. We marvel at times at the lack of love we receive. The Lord wondered that His people could be so unmindful of Him. “Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number” (Jer. 2:32).
No one wants to be loved more than God. No one is worthier of love than God. Surely, His heart is pained by the indifference and neglect of His beloved, but He does not let it destroy His love for them. His goodness is found in His response: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee” (Isa. 49:15).
The way of man is one of giving to get. When we stop getting, we stop giving. But the Lord calls us to give, even when we get nothing in return. In so doing, we are children of our wonderful Father, “for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:35).
Do you want to be blessed? Yes, being on the receiving end of another’s love is a blessing. We yearn to be thought of, cared for, loved. But it is more blessed to give than to receive. Don’t let your love for others be conditioned on their love for you. Give beyond what you’re getting. Be merciful and perfect as your Father in heaven is. Our true and eternal blessedness is found in sharing the incorruptible, ever-good heart of God, who is blessed forever.