“Prejudice does not exist in my love.”
“God shows no favoritism. In every nation, He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right.” Acts 10:34-35
Do parents have favorites? I know with my girls, based on their actions and decisions, there have been times when I might not like them, but my love for them is never affected… I love my girls unconditionally! Several years ago, one of them asked “Daddy, you always sign your cards ‘All my love’… how can you give each of us all your love… that doesn’t make sense.” And, they’re right… the relational love of a father, modeled after the love of our Father, doesn’t work the same as traditional math. As parents, we can offer ‘all our love’ to each of our children… so, too, is the love of our Father towards us, without the fear of any bias or favoritism.
Surely, you’ve asked and been asked, “What’s/who’s your favorite…?” Book, song, verse, color, music group, etc. It’s actually a draining question when it puts you on the spot, or when you can’t honestly answer one thing over another.
It can also be convicting when it reveals an unfair or hurtful preference. Imagine the pain a child feels from a parent who favors a sibling. Or think about the atrocities people have suffered worldwide because of favoritism, otherwise known as prejudice. Playing favorites can be innocent enough when it comes to a preferred ice cream flavor, but there is no way to undo the damage to the human heart as a result of prejudice. That is why I’ve never spoken words of favoritism to my girls… even in jest, because on a deep level, it is my belief that those type of messages causes pain that is carried into adulthood.
Thankfully for all of us, the only favoritism in God’s heart is the kind that says we’re all His favorite! Originally, He picked the Israelite’s as His chosen people, however, when Jesus came and died, He died for all of us, regardless of race, gender, age, sin history, education level, or any other reason. No favoritism means just that… no favoritism. God equally loves every person who has ever lived, and His love will continue to be available in measures just as great to everyone yet to be born. The math doesn’t work, nor is it supposed to… God’s math is unique (and thank God for that!)
We might disappoint our Father from time to time, but we can’t do anything to separate us from His abundant love, nor can we do anything to earn more of it. Consider the refreshment of that truth. God’s unprejudiced love not only frees us from eternal death, but it also frees us from striving to earn His acceptance in this life and in the life that is yet to come.
We’ve got His heart… the question is “does He have yours?”
Father, thank you for making me, and all of us, Your favorite… that there isn’t anything that can separate us from You or from Your love! Please help me to be grateful for that status with You, while treating others as Your favorite, as well!
Greg (gstefanelli)
Sixty-six books in a year 