There are two circumstances in which we are prone to doubt the love of God: when we are the victims of evil and when we are the agents of evil. In both cases, the error is in thinking that the presence of evil means the absence of God’s love.

He has never promised to keep all evil away from us. In fact, He reminds us constantly that evil is all around us. The point is that God is always more powerful than the worst the devil can throw at us (1 John 4:4).

But the question remains, since God hates evil, how can He love us when we do evil ourselves? There are consequences to our evil acts; we reap what we sow. But those consequences do not include the loss of God’s love. Nor does His love increase when we do good things. Our performance in either direction is simply not part of the equation. He loves because it is His nature to love—nothing more, nothing less. Even when we are faithless, God remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13)!

The great, complex love story of the Bible does not whitewash the missteps people make and the resulting consequences. Yet, again and again, we are assured that God has no intention of abandoning us. His love is forever. He promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). What part of never do we fail to understand?

Time and again, the Bible shows us examples of God’s loyal love for those who have been disloyal to Him:

• God did not stop loving Adam and Eve, even after they had violated His one restriction in the Garden of Eden. He punished them, but He never quit loving them.

• God did not stop loving Noah, even though he dishonored the grace God had shown in saving his family from the Flood by lying naked in a drunken stupor before his sons.

• God did not stop loving Abraham, even though he sought relief from famine in Egypt instead of trusting God to provide for him. Even though he tried to fulfill God’s promise of a son through his own ingenuity. Even though, on two separate occasions, he lied about the identity of his wife.

• God did not stop loving Moses, even though he committed murder and later violated God’s command by losing his temper and striking the rock of provision. God punished Moses by denying him entrance to the Promised Land. Later, He showed his love and mercy by allowing Moses to stand with Elijah in the presence of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.

• God did not stop loving David, even though David committed adultery with Bathsheba, had her husband murdered, and later conducted an unauthorized, pride-motivated census of Israel. David suffered greatly for his sins, but when he cried out in sincere repentance, God forgave him and restored him to fellowship.