He crowns you with faithful love and compassion.

Psalm 103:4b (CSB)

“Jesus loves me, this I know.” Many of us grew up singing this familiar song. What does it mean to be loved? I honestly didn’t know because I grew up in a home that lacked nurture and love. It was an environment full of anger, favoritism (not toward me), physical abuse (toward me), and abandonment (toward my brother and me).

This is the complete opposite of how Jesus loves. Psalm 103 illustrates how.

In verse 4b, it says, He crowns you with faithful love and compassion. Picture the beautiful imagery of God placing a wreath upon your head that shows everyone, including you, how loved and favored you are. 

Verse 11 compares the greatness of His love for us: For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. Heavens in Hebrew not only includes the sky, stars, and air, but also the invisible realm of God. While the distance to the stars can be measured, the sky, air, and the realm of God cannot. It is infinite. This love is hard to wrap my mind around.   

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him (vs. 13). Webster’s defines compassion as “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” I don’t know about you, but when my daughter has ever gone through a difficult time or apologized for anything, all I want to do is grab her in a hug and kiss her sweet face. I want to make her feel better and let her know it has already been forgiven.

This is how He loves each and every one of us. 

Jesus, You love perfectly. Thank you for telling us so in the Bible. Help us to believe and rest in the knowledge of Your love.

Johna Clemons