Nothing Can Separate Us From Christ’s Love

Nothing Can Separate Us From Christ’s Love

Can 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 are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? –Romans 8:35

What does it feel like to be loved by God? It is not a sentimental feeling. Nor is it circumstantial. Feeling loved by God is the deep certainty that the God of the universe is not opposed to me, though I deserve it; he is for me! It is an inner confidence in his loving intentions that gives us the security and strength we need for enduring the difficulties of this life.

But rather than feeling loved by God, you may feel that everything in this life is working against you, and in some ways you would be right. You have an enemy who seeks to destroy you, a flesh that longs to be satisfied, and a life in a world that is under a curse. So when you find yourself on the receiving end of the darkness and the brokenness of this world, it’s tempting to assume that you’ve come to the end of God’s loving reach and remembrance. But no power can come between God and his children. His love keeps us safe in him and with him for eternity. God loves us too much to let us slip away or to allow anything to keep us from experiencing his love for an eternity.

Do you want to feel loved by God? Focus on his loving provision for your eternal future, nurturing your confidence to say with Paul, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life [not cancer, a car accident, crime, or calamity], neither angels nor demons [not evil in the media or crazed psychopaths], neither the present nor the future [not any current crisis or any tragedy that may be in my future], nor any powers [not a demanding boss, a cruel dictator, or a bloodthirsty terrorist], neither height nor depth [not winning the lottery or losing my life savings], nor anything else in all creation [not a hole in the ozone, a forest fire or a hurricane, a hungry shark or a killer bee] will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39, NIV). You can be confident that nothing can keep God’s love away from you. When you don’t feel it, believe it, rehearse it in your heart and mind, and let your confidence grow.

Everlasting Jesus, the strength of your love binds me to you through life and death, through comfort and calamity, through this world and the next.

DIGGING DEEPER