A Love that Never Quits

We’ve got some messed up ideas about God. That God is a mean dictator or a strict parent who wants us to sit up straight and not make a mess or have any fun. That God is moody and impossible to please.
The God Jesus taught us about is completely opposite.

• God is the determined shepherd scouring the countryside for the one lost sheep.
• God is the frantic woman flipping over all the furniture in the house looking for her lost coin.
• God is the crazy father who runs out to meet his rebellious son, overwhelming him with love and gifts.

Does this sound like a God who only loves us if we behave a certain way? Or does it sound like a God who will stop at nothing to make sure we know just how much we are loved – knowing that the experience of being loved like that destroys all of our defenses.
I use to think God wanted us to be good. But now I know God simply wants us to be His.