What does it mean to be loyal in a world where people shift their allegiance and commitments based on how they're feeling at any particular moment? What does it mean to make a promise and keep it, even when your interests change and your feelings falter? What does it mean to love someone — really love them — even when they don't want it or deserve it?

The central character of God is his loyal love (some Bibles say "steadfast love" or "faithful love"). God's love never changes, wavers, fades, or shifts. His love for humans is steady and true, even if we don't want it (and many don't) and even though we don't deserve it (none of us do).

In a world where you can't always trust what someone says or rely on their integrity, God is always trustworthy, reliable, and loyal. If he says it, he will do it. If he promises it, he will come through. The most important promise he ever made was that he would send a Messiah to save humanity from the power of sin, remake them into new creations, and adopt them into his family.

That promise was fulfilled in Jesus.

God had a thousand reasons not to fulfill his promise because his people were continually turning their back on him and failing to hold up their end of the covenant relationship. But even so, because his love is loyal, God sent Jesus just as he said he would.

Humans will never fully understand God's loyal love. But we can experience it and be thankful for it, and then allow him to teach us how to be more loyally loving to those around us. His love is the most perfect love, and the world both needs and longs for it.

Talk about the questions below, watch the video, and read the Bible passages to dive deeper into God’s loyal love!

Warm-Up

• How would you define the word loyal? What do you think loyal love is?
• Do you think it's possible to have loyal love in today's world? Why or why not?

Watch

"God Loves You, But What Does That Mean?"​ [5:10] *This video mentions Ruth, Naomi, Jacob, Abraham, the Israelites, Pharaoh.