Psalm 103:17-18: "But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, to those who keep His covenant and remember to do His commandments."
There is but a hint of conditionality in this passage, a sort of contingent relationship between God and those who love Him. But I submit that this is present in all love. Consider, for instance, the love of romance. Is it not true that if one partner avoids and disrespects the other for any amount of time, not only will it create relational friction but it may also cause the other partner to pull away. This is, after all, but a shadow of the love that God has for us in Christ, but it is a poignant example of why God can in love say that His steadfast love remains on those who fear Him and keep His covenant. It is not, as it were, a contingent sort of love but it is a function of that which is love. Unconditional love, it turns out, has conditions. Even the mother who will always love her son and desire the very best for him will turn her back on him if he so repeatedly disregards or spurns her love. This is an inescapable truth of love itself. We would do well, then, to fear the Lord and to keep His eternal covenant in love and faithfulness!
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