Deuteronomy 7:6-14: He Loved Us Because He Wants To

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.

Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors. He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and olive oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young. - Deuteronomy 7:6-14

"But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore..." This is the core message of the entire Old Testament.  Why did God do what he did? Because he loved us and did what he promised to do. Many times, the people of God thought they could buy or earn God's favor through sacrifices or obedience. But God's love was never because of us. Ever. We don't even appear in the equation of God's own motivation. "He is the faithful God."

His reasons for loving us and promising us and sticking with us comes from inside his character-who he is. I find that my reasons are not so pure, but I wish they were