“God’s love is always in the perfect present tense.” That sentence from Sunday’s sermon deserves a resounding, Yes! It most certainly is! And just what would that mean, if you let Webster’s Dictionary, rather than an English grammar teacher, define it?
Perfect! God’s love for you and me is complete in all aspects, without defect or omission, flawless, faultless, and without reserve or qualification. It is utter, pure, sheer, and absolute perfection. It always understands you and me, always decides the right thing, always takes the right course of action. God’s love could never be improved upon and never has its ups and downs. It’s always perfect.
Present! God’s love is not just a vague, warm cosmic feeling; His love is a state that is now existing, an action that is right now in progress, an attention that is fully fixed on each of us this very second. And when the next second comes…next year… next decade… on into the eons of eternity, His love will be ever-present and attentive and active in our lives.
Tense! The root meaning of tense comes from the Latin “to stretch.” God’s love stretches from eternity past to reach into our present and continue on into our future. He planned before creation to rescue us. After man sinned, He kept reaching and reaching into our world – first through the Law and the prophets, then through His Son and His sacrifice. God continues to reach into our world through His Word and through His Holy Spirit. He’s continually stretching out to us, striving to communicate His love and capture ours. He’s wrapping His arms tightly around us. He’s pulling us close to Himself, holding us forever in His intense love.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called His kids!” That we should be loved by Him… in the perfect present tense.
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