A Love That Never Gives Up

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“Mom, can I take the car out tonight?” She looked up from what she was doing. “No. I have to go into work early tomorrow.” “Mom, please.” He leaned in to press his case. “Come on, Mom. I promise to get some gas before I come back home.” He had finally worked up the nerve to ask out the girl who sat across from him in his math class, and she said yes. Unfortunately for him, his mom remembered the last two times he made that promise and came back with the car on empty. “I’m sorry, but I have to be at work early tomorrow to prepare for a big presentation on Monday.”                                 

“Okay,” he said as he walked away. She should’ve known something was up because he never gave up that easily. Sure enough, he’d already worked out a plan. He knew she’d probably go to bed early, so he watched TV as he waited. As soon as the house was quiet, he took the keys and slipped out with the car. The date went well, but he used up most of the gas. The next morning, his mom started the car and suddenly remembered why she got that funny feeling when he said okay so quickly. To her frustration, she had to stop for gas before work and ended up late for a meeting with her boss and project team. The confrontation when she got home was, shall we say, epic. She could hardly contain her anger, and he was lucky to be grounded for only two weeks.

The following day, they went to eat at their usual spot after church when she brought up the car incident again. She was still mad, and he was still grounded, but she forgave him. As they talked, he could see in her eyes how much she loved him. That crazy teenager was me. I still remember how good it felt to know my mom loved me despite what I’d done. You know that warm feeling you get when you think about someone you love, that happiness you feel in the moment? All those incredible feelings pale in comparison to the love Jesus has for us. His love is so deep and so complete that we can’t fully comprehend it. That’s what Paul was trying to help us understand when he prayed that we’d be able to grasp “the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Eph 3:18-19).

And that immeasurable love is the hardest part for us to wrap our heads around. We’ve all experienced what it feels like to love someone even when you know they’ve done wrong. My mom didn’t excuse what I did. She disciplined me, but her anger didn’t erase her love. I actually felt it even more knowing I’d disappointed her and she still loved me. Now imagine a love that goes even deeper. A love that knows every single mistake, our deepest thoughts and desires, yet never gives up on us. We may never fully comprehend a love that “surpasses knowledge,” but we can choose to live in it. Jesus sacrificed his life for us, and neither death nor life, neither the present nor future, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:38-39). And knowing that changes everything.


Think about it.

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