Exodus 34:6-7

6 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 

7 I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected – even children in the third and fourth generations.”

Understanding Unfailing Love

The Hebrew term for “unfailing love” in this passage is checed (kheh’-sed). This term combines the concepts of steadfast loyalty, mercy, kindness, and relational faithfulness. This term connects to God’s personality, maintaining a covenant with God, and covenantal loyalty. Different psalmists use this to connect to celebrating God, having confidence in God, and understanding God’s forgiveness through repentance. This also shows the importance in family relationships, professional conduct, and standard everyday life. We’ll look more into how Christ shows unfailing love in Mark 10:21 in just a moment. 

For us, we can confidently believe that God’s love for us will never leave despite the conditions of our society and our own personal and collective behaviors. God’s divine loves call us towards attitudes of justice, repair, and mutual accountability. Churches are called to have a foundation of unfailing love at the core of all their ministries. Overall, when we share the Gospel, God’s divine love needs to be at our core, and we understand this through our studies of Scripture.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Where are places when you show unfailing love to others?

Mark 10:21 – Commit To Jesus Only

21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Jesus’ gazes suggests a deep understanding and insight into a person’s heart and situation. In the biblical context, this looks goes deeper than just the physical. It looks at the spiritual and emotional state of the person. (connecting back to God’s conversation with Samuel about a new king – 1 Samuel 16:7). The type of love that Jesus shows here is agape love – a selfless, unconditional love that seeks the best for others. Jesus is showing compassion and concern for the person’s spiritual well-being, reflecting God’s love and showing what it means to love God and neighbor. Jesus’s word that He shares with him carries divine wisdom, revealing truth and a challenge to us that we can reflect on. 

Jesus shares the man is missing something important, despite following the rules to the letter. This is a recurring theme that shows in the Bible – that we cannot gain salvation through our works by ourselves (like the man’s wealth); we need to have our hearts fully surrendered to God. Jesus issues a challenge to this person: go sell everything you own. This challenges the material wealth that we tend to hold on to, which often conflicts with spiritual growth. Jesus encourages us to detach from our earthly possessions and focus on generosity and care for the marginalized communities. The promise of heavenly treasure shows us the value of spiritual investments, and the concept of eternal rewards that tends to those who follow God’s will. Jesus says that if this is done, then the person and follow Him. Generally, this is a call of total commitment and prioritization of Christ. 

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: How do you see the unfailing love of God in this verse? How do you see it applying to your life?