“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger,
or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we
are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor
life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else
in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:35-39 (ESV )
Sorry this post is going up so late. But, I needed to
make sure this was right, so it took some extra prayer and editing. Thanks for
being patient and I hope it blesses you and gives you hope as it did me!
This morning The Hubster sang, “Love of God” by Mercy Me
at church. First, what an amazing song!! The words are so powerful and oh so
true!! If you haven’t heard it, just click on the link above to listen to it on
YouTube.
As I listened to him practice this week, I knew I
wanted to share the song with you all this week. But, this morning after he
sang, we started talking and I knew it needed to be more than just a link to
the song.
As we talked, I asked him what Scripture comes to
mind with this song. Almost immediately he responded with Romans 8:35-39. This
verse is exactly what he taught on at small group Thursday. So, I thought I
would share it with you all today. Again, sorry it’s going up so late!!
First of all, we need to understand the theme of
Chapter 8 prior to verse 35. The theme of Chapter 8 is being and doing good,
which is accomplished by conforming to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. In
verse 8, Paul tells us that we cannot please God if we are not His child. It
can’t happen! But, for those of us in
Christ Jesus, those living in the Spirit not the flesh will live in
righteousness because of the Spirit that dwells inside us. (vs 9-10)
Second, in order to understand the glory that awaits
us, we must endure trials and tribulations. But, take comfort in that “the
sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to
be revealed to us.” (Rom 8:18 ,
ESV ) When going through the trials and tribulations of
this world, you must understand the Love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus. If you don’t understand this, none of the
rest of it matters!!
Now, how do we understand the love of God? First we must understand that everything Paul lists in
verse 35b and 38-39 cannot and WILL NOT
stop the love of God, which is at work in us to do good. (vs 28)
God’s love is so much more powerful than any “tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword” (v
35b) that we might endure here on this earth. He has already overcome all of it
with the living sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.
But, just because the love of God is more powerful
than all those things (and so much more), doesn’t mean our lives are going to
be easy. We will endure trials and if we are truly in Christ Jesus, persecution on some level. As we go through those
seemingly relentless trials, we must also understand that God gives us what we need
not what we want. Why? Because it’s all for His Glory!!!
James says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast
under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life,
which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12, ESV )
It’s all because of Him and for Him. And that’s great
news!!
Blessings friends,
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