35Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36(As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NLT)
This passage from Romans, Chapter 8 speaks of a love that cannot be fully expressed inhuman terms – nor can it be fully duplicated by human beings. We speak of this love being expressed through sacrifice, through selflessness, through the gifts with which our Heavenly Father blesses us daily – But I would contend that this love, HIS love, is most fully understood by us as a decision. God’s love is a choice and He has made the choice to love you regardless of how YOU feel about HIM. Did you get that? You see, we most often relate to God’s selfless love by thinking of it in the same terms as our human, selfish, love. We are always wondering what conditions He is placing n His love for us – or what, in our more wretched moments, what He can do for us or give to us because He claims to love us.
Admit it, it’s true – and that’s ok, for now, but part of the sanctification process – the process that we as submitted followers of Christ go through in order to reflect holiness – is to also understand the power of God’s CHOICE for while we were still sinners, He died for us so that we can be saved from the power of sin and death and enter into a relationship with Him that will last into eternity. THAT is the power of His CHOICE. If He made demands of us we would never be worthy. It is what He does, has done, not what we have done – or can ever do.
He loves us simply because, well, He loves us – because He chooses to. It is pure Love and pure selflessness. It is pure Agape love and, if we choose to believe that Jesus is the Christ and that He died as atonement for your sins, we can receive that Agape love and, in our best moments, reflect it back to a dying world. Amen.
This passage from Romans, Chapter 8 speaks of a love that cannot be fully expressed inhuman terms – nor can it be fully duplicated by human beings. We speak of this love being expressed through sacrifice, through selflessness, through the gifts with which our Heavenly Father blesses us daily – But I would contend that this love, HIS love, is most fully understood by us as a decision. God’s love is a choice and He has made the choice to love you regardless of how YOU feel about HIM. Did you get that? You see, we most often relate to God’s selfless love by thinking of it in the same terms as our human, selfish, love. We are always wondering what conditions He is placing n His love for us – or what, in our more wretched moments, what He can do for us or give to us because He claims to love us.
Admit it, it’s true – and that’s ok, for now, but part of the sanctification process – the process that we as submitted followers of Christ go through in order to reflect holiness – is to also understand the power of God’s CHOICE for while we were still sinners, He died for us so that we can be saved from the power of sin and death and enter into a relationship with Him that will last into eternity. THAT is the power of His CHOICE. If He made demands of us we would never be worthy. It is what He does, has done, not what we have done – or can ever do.
He loves us simply because, well, He loves us – because He chooses to. It is pure Love and pure selflessness. It is pure Agape love and, if we choose to believe that Jesus is the Christ and that He died as atonement for your sins, we can receive that Agape love and, in our best moments, reflect it back to a dying world. Amen.
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