Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant. Yet he, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity; and did not destroy them; often he restrained his anger, and did not stir up all his wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not come again. (Psalm 78: 37-39)

God is compassionate. God is rachuwm in the original Hebrew. God loves deeply, fully, and empathetically. God loves us because God understands us much better than we understand ourselves.

God calls us to love one another as we are loved. We give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. God gives us the benefit of full understanding. We are asked to love others at least as well as we love ourselves. Even better is to love as God loves.

If we would accept this love, how might it change our life? If we allowed ourselves to be so completely loved, how might we love others? If we were able to love others as fully as we are loved, how might the world be changed?