God’s abundant love is marked by a forbearance that outlasts every generation. The Lord has never stopped caring, listening, or moving toward his people, no matter how transient our lives are. Whether single, married, separated, or divorced, our earthly lives frequently change; God does not.

God’s love is the great comfort of those caring for sexual strugglers—indeed, how can we express the magnitude of it?

Could we with ink the ocean fill

And were the skies of parchment made,

were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill

And ev’ry man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Tho’ stretched from sky to sky.[1]

While God’s love is boundless, ministry to those struggling with sexual sin shows me how limited I am in what I can realistically do to help. A surgeon can leave the operating room knowing whether the procedure went well or not—apart from God’s providence, the surgeon’s skill and the patient’s condition all play a visible role, especially when life and death hang in the balance. But when I walk out of a small-group meeting or discipleship session, I know that my gifts alone cannot reach or heal a human heart. The outcome of spiritual labor is never mine to determine. There is always another—the great Physician—at work.

Three Truths About God’s Love to Empower Ministry

The despair of a betrayed and hurting wife can feel greater than any word of peace I utter, no matter how tender. The weight of life-dominating sexual sins can feel insurmountable; my wisdom falls short. Even my prayers require constant outside help, much like Moses who needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his hands amid battle (Ex. 17:10–13). Yet when I’m most weak and the “problem” seems bigger than whatever I can muster in thought or skill, I’ve found my fingers running back to Scripture like a perplexed child seeking answers, meditating on one particular attribute of God . . . his love.

God’s love is not just something he does from everlasting to everlasting, it’s who he is (1 John 4:16). God’s love is there where my heart has been struck by the gospel preached afresh over and over again, as I’m granted clear directions from above to care for lost souls. Ministry, as beautiful as it may be, is not about us who are meant to decrease, but about the Lord who is already at work and who’s meant to increase (John 3:30). He is the one sustaining everything in the first place. We are mere instruments in his hands. We must uphold this truth as though life and death hang in the balance, knowing we’d fail as stewards of God’s ministry otherwise.

Thus, I want to share with you, dear parents and ministry leaders, three truths about God’s love that I pray will anchor you as you care for sexual strugglers. May each son and daughter, brother and sister see your deep dependence on God, and know that your counsel flows from his Word to their hearts as you proclaim that which you have seen and heard, in fellowship with the Father and the Son, where your joy may be complete (1 John 1:3-4).

1. God’s Love Is a Profound Mystery

First, we need to acknowledge the profound mystery of God’s love woven throughout Scripture. To my human eyes, it resembles the unequaled affection and sacrifice parents pour into the growth of their children. Over the years, a kind of “debt” accumulates—one the child could never repay—and yet, surprisingly, parents absorb it repeatedly through love. We, as sons and daughters, may try to return the lifelong kindness, only soon to realize how far short we fall. And for those whose family stories are marked by fracture or absence, I don’t mean to overlook your pain; in my own life, foster and spiritual parents have embodied this love in ways that still humble me.

All of this only hints at the deeper truth: our covenant-keeping God loves with a steadfast and faithful love, as the mystery of the cross is one we cannot comprehend.The agonies of Calvary show the Son drinking the bitter cup that we deserved. There, divine wrath was fully satisfied through his perfect sacrifice. Though we were debtors and enemies, he brought us near with an everlasting love, always faithful, always kind (Jer. 31:3).

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