Like the beauty of nature, God’s love is always present

n western South Dakota, south of I-90 and between mile marker 110 and 131, lies a geological phenomenon that most often simply goes by the name of “The Badlands.” For some, as they drive through this part of God’s creation, they may see just a completely disjointed collection of rocks and hills, and prairies and valleys where one valley or ravine looks just like another.  

In the eyes of the child, you can often see the excitement and starry-eyed wonder as they holler to their parent’s “Mom, take my picture!” In the eyes of many of the adult travelers, you can hear the lack of excitement as they reply, “Why?  These rocks look just like the ones we just saw.”  

For our family though, whether we were just driving through the area on vacation, or whether we were living in the area nearby, getting off the interstate and driving through this part of the state was a regular requirement in our journeys. During the perhaps hundreds of times that we made the trip through Badlands National Park, we have driven it in probably every type of weather imaginable, and every season and every time of day.  

We stood on the eastern edge of the park and watched as the skies to the west darkened as a thunderstorm approached. We drove through from the west to the east, as we headed home in the darkest part of the night; sometimes with no moon and just the stars overhead and sometimes under a full moon casting it’s brilliant light on the landscape below. We made our 40-mile journey through this park in the heat of the summer, the greenery of the spring, and the depths of the winter: sometimes being the only person to have driven on the freshly fallen snow which covered this landscape.  

There were always two things we could count on though: God’s beauty was always present no matter what the season or time was, and the road which led us through the park from whatever direction we came was always there and the same. In the dark of the night, though we may not always see it, it was there. Sometimes it might be slippery, but it was there. Sometimes the freshly fallen snow may be hiding it underneath, but the road was there. Because of the number of times we had visited this park, and the great variety of conditions we had visited the park in, we knew the road. We could always tell about where we were at.  We knew how many more miles we would have until we exited the park. Perhaps we could say, it was because we had spent so much time in this park, and in so many varying conditions, that we had the faith we could journey through this demonstration of God’s beauty, and would come out on the other end.

It is with this thought in mind, my thoughts were turned heavenward. Was this the confidence which the author of Psalm 117:2 spoke of when he wrote “For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.”? (NIV) Or is this the realization which Jeremiah, who was called the weeping prophet, had when he wrote “…Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23, NIV)  Or how about even King David, when, in Psalm 33:22, he wrote “May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” (ibid)

As Christians, or even as people who are seeking to know more about God who lovingly wants to call us His children, we often want to assign to our God a persona of fear and limitations. “You can’t do this.” “You can’t do that.” And if you do this or that, be careful “… because God is gonna get you” at the first chance He has. We fail to consider that Jesus himself stated that the greatest commandment, as found in Matthew 22:37 is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart.” Later on, in 1 John 4:16, John wrote “God is love …” (ibid).

When we have failed, God loves us. When we fail to do as well as we think we should have, our heavenly Father loves us. When we are broken, and feel like we can’t go on, God is still there, because He loves us so. There is no place on this earth we can run to, or hide in, or be forced to go, but what we still have a God who loves us!  Is there sin? YES!  Does God excuse sin? NO! Does God still love us as a parent would love their child?  A thousand times yes.  How do we know this? Because, (as the children’s song goes) the Bible tells us so.  

My friend, never give up on, or even wonder if or why God loves you so, because He always has, and always will love you — even when it seems like no one else will.  

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ibid)

Jack Droste is the former pastor of Henriette Free Methodist Church. He now serves as minister at Logan Free Methodist Church in Logan, Kansas.