Episode #212 God Loves Me Until? – Knowing God

For God so loved the world until…Have you ever considered that possibility?

That God so loved the world, or more specifically, that God so loved you, until this thing happened?
Until you sinned in a really big way?
Until you kept making that mistake?
Until that thing was done to you?
Or until the world catapulted into huge turmoil and decay?

Today, we're talking about God's unchanging nature. And I was considering this question in light of the topic, because while I believe that many of us would say, oh, there is no stopping God's love, God doesn't love us only until a certain point…We can unknowingly be caught up in concerns about whether or not God truly is unchanging in his care for us.

The big $5 word for God's unchanging nature is his immutability. He does not change.

And as we look at this aspect of God's character today, it's helpful to consider the opposite. If God were to change, how would he change?

Would he change for the better or for the worse? That would imply that he either was not perfect to begin with, or he could become more perfect.

Would God learn something? Would he adapt and change based on human wisdom, or what society was believing or touting as wise or best or even good in that season in the world?

It's helpful to think about these questions this way, because it highlights for us the impossibility of those things.

God cannot be perfect, and all-knowing, and yet need to change to improve or to learn something new.
And this is a hard one to wrap our minds around because as humans, we're changing all the time.

When we teach our kids about God's nature, one of the common examples we give them is simply looking at a family photo album to see how they have grown and changed since they were born. We learn, we adapt, we mature, we gain new skills. Shoot, we gain the skill to be able to hold our own heads up.

But God doesn't change. God stays the same. He is consistent and he is constant. He has nothing else to form or to fortify or to improve or mature in, he is perfect just as he is.

And in a world that is constantly changing, God is our steadfast anchor. Where we can be overcome and overwhelmed by all of the changes in seasons and life and family responsibilities and expectations, both from ourselves and from those who are around us, God remains the same.

I pray that that offers reassurance to you today, especially if there are things in your world that feel chaotic.

God is steadfast in his care for you. He's unchanging. This also comforts me as I'm on my long journey overcoming perfectionism and seeing ways that those performance or achiever tendencies have creeped into aspects of my life and of my walk with God because I can sometimes put upon God this false belief that He is going to love me more if I do better, or that love me less if I falter.

We can rely on God's immutability as a foundation of truth. We can find rest knowing that He is always the same. He is our ever-present help. Our source of peace. Our safe place. Our trustworthy God.

In Malachi chapter 3. The people have faltered again. They deserve God's judgment for their unfaithfulness because yet again, they have broken their covenant with God. But listen to what God says in Malachi 3:6. He says, “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”

This is an expression of God's mercy and his covenantal faithfulness. The people changed their mind. They left God. They went their own way yet again. And God is saying, Hey, you have changed. But because I have not changed, you are not consumed. And he again gives them the invitation and he calls them back to himself.

In James 1:17, it says “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

We've talked about this in episodes that talk about how God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. There's not even a shadow, not even a variation of brightness, because God doesn't change.

And of course, this is true about Jesus too, in Hebrews 13:8, it says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

And so God's unchanging nature, His immutability may feel familiar to you, or it might be a brand new concept that you haven't really paid much attention to before. Maybe even this episode is the first time you're hearing that word or considering this attribute of God. No matter where that lands for you, here's a question you can take into conversation with God and learn more from him about this quality, this attribute of who he is.

And here's our question:

God, what part of your immutability do you invite me to rest in today?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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