God's Love Unending

God’s Love Unending Rob Clark 1
GOD’S LOVE UNENDING

The Modern Day Mantra of Psalm 136
by Rob Clark
©2009. You have the right to post this, email this and print it, as long as you don’t change it or charge for it.
What We Fear
Can you remember the scariest moment in your life? I am not sure I could pick
one moment, but there are a few in the top ten for sure. One of those moments
happened August 20, 1999. That day began the writing of a great love story. It
started in central Illinois when I picked up my girlfriend from the airport.
She flew from her hometown of Saskatoon to return to college for the year after
spending the entire summer in Canada. After I picked her up from the airport, we
drove a couple hours north to Naperville to attend the wedding of my college
roommate.
Even though I assumed she would say yes, I never experienced a greater
nervousness than that day. I am sure we talked on the two hour car drive to
Naperville, but I can’t remember since all my thoughts were consumed by the
ring in the trunk of my car.
As we arrived and walked down to the very scenic river bank of downtown
Naperville, I nearly passed out from the mix of extreme excitement and
unbelievable nervousness. Even though this was the first time we spent together
in months in addition to that her family didn’t really even know who I was and I
could barely pronounce her hometown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, I decided to
ask Rachelle to marry me.
Technically, she didn’t say yes. She didn’t say anything at all, but she did put the
ring on her finger and kissed me, so I took that as a yes. I knew then and still
know today that spending a lifetime with Rachelle far outweighed any risk or fear
I could imagine.
Most of the things we do or don’t do in life stems from fear. The vast majority of
the time, we fear losing something.
We fear losing pride, so we fail to act to avoid any chance of rejection. We fear
losing comfort, so we stay at a job that we hate. We fear losing security, so we
don’t give our time or money and become greedy. Sometimes the fear can
protect us, but fear should not dictate our actions.
Psalm 136
Like most psalms, the author of psalm 136 focuses on praising God. As well, this
psalm should inspire us to live an audacious life for God. I realize that before you
eat supper tonight, you likely will forget the majority of what you read in the next
few minutes.
So I ask you to make a commitment after you finish reading. I ask you to make a
commitment to decide what an audacious life for God means to you. And if I may
be so bold, if you do commit to decide what an audacious life for God means to
you, I ask that you write that down and stick it in your wallet, purse, bible or even
email it to your iPhone.
Psalm 136 contains 52 lines. 26 of those lines say the exact same thing. God’s
love endures forever. Other interpretations say God’s love never quits or his
loving kindness is everlasting or God’s love never fails or His faithful love
continues forever.
When the 26 repeating lines are removed, the remaining scripture provides a
brief history, preceded by a short introduction and followed with a short
conclusion.
The psalm starts by praising God for being God. This psalm praises the God of
gods. This psalm praises the Lord of lords. For the next few verses, the psalmist
praises God the creator and highlights a few wonders of God’s creation. Roughly
half of the psalm focuses on God’s involvement in history.
Praises continue for God’s involvement in saving the firstborn of the Israelites
and leading his people out of captivity in Egypt. The psalm praises God for
parting the Red Sea and providing while in the desert. God removed kings and
rulers while handing over land to His people, and for this, psalm 136 offers
praise.
And as the psalm concludes, praises are given to God because at our lowest
points, God remembers us. When we face trials, God watches over us. God
provides and God protects and for this, we give praise.
Modern Day Mantra
Exactly half the psalm remains devoted to one phrase. God’s love endures
forever. God’s love never quits.
It resounds like a mantra.
Usually defined as a sound, a mantra contains a word or a short phrase capable

of creating transformation. You may recognize the world’s most famous mantra
as the simple sound of “OM”. Usually reserved for Eastern religions, mantras
now finds purpose in businesses as well.
Nike uses a mantra. Authentic Athletic Performance. All Nike products fall under
the mantra authentic athletic performance. Can you think of one Nike product
that contradicts Nike’s mantra?
Starbucks owns a mantra as well. Rewarding everyday moments. Everything that

Starbucks sells agrees with this 3 word phrase. This mantra goes above selling
coffee. It allows them to sell CDs, sell food, promote movies, and most
importantly, create an atmosphere where you want to meet friends.
Psalm 136 could turn into a mantra as God’s love never quits or in order to get
the popular 3 word mantra form, God’s Love Unending. This goes beyond the
history lesson in the the psalm. Even though it sounds like a cliche, we shouldn’t
rush over this common phrase too fast.
2 Timothy 3:16 says all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. Since God inspired psalm
136, what did God want us to know?
Why did God inspired the phrase “His love never quits” 26 times in a 52 line
psalm?
Since God’s love never quits, we should not fear losing God’s love. What does
that mean to you? No excuse should exist for us fearing the loss of God’s love. If
we truly believe that, what does that look like in our lives?
Fear Overcoming Purpose
During World War II, the invasion of Normandy known as D-Day ranks as one of
the most heroic days in human history. One part of the invasion involved the
paratroopers.
These brave individuals jumped out of airplanes in order to get behind the enemy
line. The actual act of parachuting involved many risk that often led to broken
bones and worse, but landing among heavily armed enemies increased the
danger of their job.
One account tells of four individuals that refused to jump on that historic day
because they feared for their lives. Even though all their training led to this event,
fear dictated their action.
They did not physically perish that night, but they ceased to live. As their brothers
chose to fight, they chose to walk away from their purpose. The very act they
committed to do led to the very thing they trained to do, but they let fear
overcome their purpose. The story they chose to write highlights their fear
instead of their purpose.
Buried Talents
Matthew 25 tells the parable about missing our purpose because of fear. It says
“It's also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together
and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another
two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities.
Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's
investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug
a hole and carefully buried his master's money.
After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled
up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had
doubled his investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your
job well. From now on be my partner. The servant with the two thousand showed
how he also had doubled his master's investment. His master commended him:
'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards
and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for
error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and
secured your money.
Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent. The master was furious. 'That's
a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was
after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done
would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have
gotten a little interest”. The fear caused the servant to miss his purpose.
For a while, I wished the second servant in the parable resulted in a different
outcome. Instead of investing and making a profit, what would the master say if
the servant took a risk and lost the money? What if the servant had nothing to
show for the risk he took?
But maybe the results are not the point of the parable. The talents returned to the
master might not matter. The emphasis of the parable demands that we do
something. The master possessed great wealth and likely found the amount of
the talents returned irrelevant.
Obviously, this parable shows our relationship as servants to God. Each of us

blessed with different talents. Some of us possess amazing artistic talents, others
show strong business sense, some of us dream dreams while others might
teach. God expects action based on those gifts and abilities.
God wants to know how we will manage those gifts. How much effort do we add
to our God given talents? What story are we writing?
Asking What If
Asking ourselves questions often proves valuable. My favorite type of question

ask “what if.” What if type questions can lead to life changing experiences.
Recently, I came across a question, “What if you could never retire? Would that
change your current lifestyle?
Do you slave through each day at your job so you can retire when you reach 65?
Then you can travel, spend time with family and friends, read some books and
enjoy slow mornings over coffee? It sounds like a good plan, but not a Godly
plan.
Tim Ferriss in his book “The 4-hour Work Week” tells a story about a
businessman who took a vacation to a small coastal Mexican village. He went
fishing with a local fisherman. While fishing, the businessman asked the
fisherman how he spent his time apart from working.
The local fisherman replied: “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a
siesta with my wife and stroll into the village each evening, where I sip wine and
play guitar with my amigos.”
The businessman could not help but comment when he found out the man only
fished enough each day to feed his family and a few friends. He made
suggestions to the fisherman and advised how he could grow his meager
activities into an amazingly successful business and after 15 to 20 years he
could retire a millionaire!
The fisherman asks the businessman, “Then what?” To which the businessman
replies “Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village, sleep
late, fish a little, play with your children, take a siesta with your wife and stroll into
the village each evening, where you would sip wine and play guitar with your
amigos.”
This story points out how we sometimes define success wrong. Christians should
not define success as wealth, fame or status. We should define success as doing
the absolute best with our gifts from God. If we know what God expects of us,
why do we let fear stop us from succeeding in accomplishing God’s will in our
life?
My favorite what if question asks what if you could not fail? What would you
attempt? That question becomes even more powerful when we begin to believe
that God’s love never quits. We can not lose God’s love, so what continues to
hold us back?
Wesley Clark, a retired army general, once remarked only two types of plans
exist, those that won’t work and those that might work. When we calculate the
risk and only attempt the for sure wins, we will rarely leave the sidelines. God
expects us to leave the sidelines.
Going back to Matthew 25, we find these words “Then the King will say to those
on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the
kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and
you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I
was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed
you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger
and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick
or in prison and go to visit you? The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever
you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
The words used in Psalm 136 might give us some perspective of God’s
expectations. This list of words from psalms 136 paint a clear picture that include
working, formed, created, filled, watch, struck, rescued, took, divided, led, swept,
marched, smashed, struck, killed, distributed, remembered, rescued and
protects. We see that God takes action. As servants that decide to take action,
we almost always face risk. Most of these words brought glory to God, but also
invoke risk and fear.
Good But Not Safe
Does this explain why we hesitate to invest our talents? Do we bury our talents
out of fear? Pastor Dave of Lakeview Free Methodist Chruch often says God is
good, but God is not safe. Psalm 136 throws around some scary words. Yet, God
still asks us to take the risk. Randy Maddox coined the term responsible grace in
his book on John Wesley. Wesley believed we play a role in the grace God freely
gave to us.
Even though our salvation comes from God’s grace alone, we do have a
responsibility. In Psalm 136, God made it possible for Moses to lead Israel to
freedom, but they had to wander into the desert. God made it possible for Moses
to part the Red Sea, but Israel walked on the dry land which was surrounded by
violent waves.
We not to think much about wandering through a desert or to walk with walls of
violent ocean above your head, but these risk existed for the Israelites. The
Israelites wrote their God filled story by their brave choices.
Thomas Paine once quoted “What we obtain to cheap, we esteem too lightly.”
This holds true for our faith as well. When I hear churches talking about changing
the city or changing lives, I get excited. When Jesus literally walked on earth, he
started a revolution with his words and his actions. He acted as an agent of
change. He challenged the status quo with authority and changed the entire
world forever.
We can play a part in that today. We get excited, but then let the fear dictate our
behavior. We believe in God’s promises, but often lose focus in the process.
Psalm 136 reminds us that we might spend some time in the desert or might find
ourselves walking in the middle of violent waves. The entire time we must
remember the mantra God’s Love Unending. We use this mentality to get
through tough situations often.
When we go through hard situations, we usually focus on the outcome. If dieting

or working out, we focus on the healthier body. When going through years of
schooling and long nights of reading, we focus on the knowledge we gain.
In this same way, when we face the trials, pains or risk involved in living an
audacious life for Christ, remember God’s Love Unending. Don’t confuse this
love with the love for a good cup of coffee or warm, sunny day because this love
sent our holy and perfect saviour to die on a cross as a sacrifice for our sin.
Involved or Committed
This reminds me of the different levels of commitment at breakfast. The chicken

is involved, but the pig is committed. If you don’t get it, the chicken lays an egg,
but the pig dies for the bacon. My apologies to marketing majors, but I relate this
to the difference between advertising and marketing. Advertising focuses on
getting the word out.
Moo.com prints business cards, minicards, postcards and many other print
related items. Their motto states “we love to print.” Moo.com advertises like many
other companies, but realizes the real value comes from marketing. Instead of
traditional business cards, moo cards come in different sizes. In a box of 100
cards, you can design each individual card differently if you choose. Moo.com
markets by selling a high quality and unique product for a reasonable price. I
came across moo.com when I googled business cards.
Their advertising convinced me to order their minicards. Once I received my moo

cards, the marketing began. I gave away my moo cards freely and told the story
of how this unique card came from UK almost as cheap as I could get them from
in town. To this date, my brother, my brother in law, a local radio personality and
a photographer have all ordered their own moo cards because I introduced them
to this small print company in the UK. I am quite sure, they are giving away their
moo cards while telling the story of why they purchased them.
Advertising plays a role. When people search for Christ, we must be willing to
share with them our story. Christians should invite all who seek. Advertising is
the words. Marketing is the action.
St. Francis of Assisi advised us “Preach the Gospel at all times and when
necessary use words.” Unless our actions support the story we tell with our
words, people will see no need for the church to exist. But when we walk the talk,
others will notice and often spread the story further.
For Christians, advertising plays a part, but the marketing changes lives. Both
advertising and marketing play a key role. With our words, we might convince
people to come to a weekend church service. Yet knowing that God’s love for us
will never end, we commit to action that will change lives.
Our Finest Hour
If we go back to 1944 on the same day that the four paratroopers refused to
jump, we can recount another famous story. Winston Churchill wanted to speak
to some of the ground troops before they crossed the English Channel to storm
the beaches of Normandy. Winston Churchill knew how the soldiers were feeling,
because he too served his country in the army and saw action in India and Africa
during his army career.
Churchill knew the danger what these young men were facing and yet he asked
them to fulfill their purpose. With tears in his eyes, he spoke to these brave men
that accepted their audacious purpose. Winston Churchill told the men “The fate
of the free world rests on your shoulders. May this be your finest hour”.
Is that fateful day so different than right now? God, in His unending love, sent
Jesus Christ to us. Jesus knows exactly what we face if we choose to accept our
purpose. He knows the fears we face as we are asked to leave our captivity
which we disguise as security. God knows the risk we take by wandering into the
desert. God knows the faith it will take when we are standing on the edge of the
sea.
God knows because Jesus has already faced more fear, pain and risk than we
could ever know. And after all this, God expects us to enter the fight. And like the
four paratroopers, we can choose to play it safe. We get to write our own story.
During a sermon, Pastor Dave Barbour advised that we shouldn’t ask what the
world needs, but ask what makes us come alive. God instilled that passion into
us, that is our purpose. Our purpose is to come alive.
We Are Pencils
Mother Teresa once said “I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is
sending a love letter to the world”. I think there are many layers to this. This
pencil starts out as a useless object. For the pencil to be effective, it goes
through a transformation known as sharpening. Typically, the sharper the point,
the more effective and longer it lasts but a pencil will not last forever.
You can protect the pencil by not using it, but then it serves no purpose. In some
cases, the pencil will break. But even when it breaks, it can still serve it’s
purpose. Sometimes that break allows it to be more useful. And most importantly,
the pencil can not write on it’s own. No value can come from the pencil until the
creator moves the pencil. As that pencil, we must wait readily and in anticipation
for that move.
Psalm 136 tells us that God’s love endures forever. God never quits writing this
love letter to the world and He decided to use us to write that love letter. This tells
us that the fate of a truly free world rests on our shoulders.
Is this going to be our finest hour?
What story is your life writing?
So I ask you one last time, will you decide today what an audacious life for God
means to you?
Email: rob@ventibox.com
Phone: 306-220-9081
http://www.facebook.com/therobclark

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God’s Love Unending Rob Clark 1