As I have perused the pages of my One-Year Bible, an intriguing word keeps popping up, especially in the Psalms: checed.  It is translated as “lovingkindness” in the KJV, “love” in the NIV, and “unfailing love” in the NLT.  The Message translation adds another facet to the word — “dependable” and “thorough.”

It struck me as I read over and over that the Lord wants us to know that his love really is never ending.

Think about that for a minute.  Do we humans have an understanding of love that never fails? Broken homes are often the norm in our society as people “fall out of love” with each other.  But the Lord does not fall out of love with us.

When I’ve blown it…when I have failed to control my words and end up tearing down my family instead of building them up…I don’t just repent.  I repent with joy as I realize that I don’t have to keep beating myself up.  The Lord’s love is unfailing. Although there are certainly consequences to sin, being cut off from his love is not one of them.  Like the waves of the seas, His love washes over  us without fail:

“7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas
as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
8 But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
and through each night I sing his songs,
praying to God who gives me life.”

-Psalm 42:7-8