God’s exclusive love

It is said that God loves everyone and that is true. Yet, when you read the bible you see something more profound. Psalm 127 verse 2 says “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep” (emphasis mine). This verse alone tells us that God’s love for his beloved is exclusive, it is different, it is particular. God’s love for his people has always been distinct from his love for other nations. The covenantal promise of God was exclusive to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac the rightful heir. Similarly, adoption into the family of God is exclusive to anyone who would believe in Christ, repent of their sins and trust in the saving work of Jesus. Those that have been set apart for God have a special relationship with Him. He loves them differently; He loves them more. Those are the people He will move mountains for. The book of Isaiah speaks of the love of God for his beloved and the many mighty ways in which God will rescue her and display his love for her.

When we look at the bible, we see this clearly in God’s treatment of Israel. They were a people chosen by God, set apart to be His. They had a particular law that distinguished them from other nations, they were to carry themselves in a different manner – many times foreign to the ways of the world; they were to have physical signs on them like circumcision that differentiated them from others; they would not eat certain types of meat, touch unclean things, and more because they were set apart. In the same way, God has set apart all those who are in Christ, all who have come to Him through the sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have been grafted into that exclusive love of God; we now share in God’s promises to Abraham’s descendants because we are now part of his descendants. This exclusive relation can be seen clearly in the book of Acts where God’s power was particularly at work in the lives of the apostles. In the book of Acts, we are told of many instances whereby, the angels will come to transmit a message to the apostles specifically and not to the mass. Sometimes it was to Peter (Acts 10), other times it was to Philip (Acts 8) or Paul, etc. Moreover, when God wanted to comfort his disciples, he would ensure they received his message. As a matter of fact, the comfort was directed to his beloved and not to everyone. As an example, when Jesus resurrected on the third day and his disciples, specifically the women were looking for his body, angels appeared to them and told them “do not be afraid” (Matthew 28:5), yet the same angels did not seem to care about the fear the soldiers guarding the tomb had upon seeing them. The message of comfort was only for the women and not the soldiers. That is exclusivity at its best, it shows that God was more concerned about the wellbeing of the women than He was of the wellbeing of the soldiers. His focus was on the women because they were “his beloved” and not on the soldiers. Another example of that exclusive love is the call of the apostle Paul. When Jesus interrupts Pauls’ quest on the road to Damascus, Paul sees Jesus and hears directly from Jesus; the message is directed at Paul but the people that were with him do not understand what is going on and don’t see Jesus. But they were all there together, they witnessed that something supernatural happened, yet they were unable to understand or say much about it. Again, that is exclusivity. The last example I want to use is the example of Jesus’ love for his bride, the church. Just like the love of a husband to his wife is supposed to be exclusive so it is the same with the love God has for his bride the Church. He will do anything for her, indeed, He already has. He conquered death for His bride, cleansed her of all impurities, made her new because He loved her exclusively. The beauty in all this is that this exclusive love is available to anyone who would repent and believe in the Lord Jesus!

Therefore, instead of arguing about who is in the chosen group, and who is not, whether it is fair or not, whether it is just or not, we should instead seek to know the author of this exclusive love and ensure we receive it. God’s ways are not ours and so it is not up to us to give meaning to His words. Our God is in the Heavens and He does all that pleases Him (Psalm 115:3). This exclusive love of God is available to you; God is so loving, and His love is higher than what we know, it is complete, and He wants to lavish us with that exclusive love. Why then is it so difficult for our hearts to accept His love? How is it that something so beautiful and simple has become a stumbling block to many? I pray we will stop hardening our hearts and receive this exclusive love because, as the bible tells us, you really want to be in this love.