Living in the love of God

537 live in the love of GodIn his letter to the Romans, Paul rhetorically asks, "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8,35).

Truly nothing can separate us from Christ's love, which is clearly shown to us here, as we read in the verses that follow: "For I am sure that neither death nor life, neither angels, nor powers, nor authorities, neither things present nor things to come , neither high nor low nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8,38-39).

We cannot be separated from the love of God because He always loves us. He loves us whether we are doing good or bad, whether we are winning or losing, or whether times are good or bad. Believe it or not, he loves us! He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Jesus Christ died for us when we were still sinners (Romans 5,8). There is no greater love than to die for someone5,13). So God loves us. That's for sure. No matter what, God loves us.

For us Christians, perhaps the more important question is whether we will love God when the going gets tough? Let us not fool ourselves into assuming that Christians are immune to trials and suffering. There are bad things in life, whether we are saints or sinners. God never promised us that there would be no difficulties in the Christian life. Will we love God in good times and in bad?

Even our biblical ancestors have thought about it. Let's look at the conclusions they reached:

Habakkuk: The fig tree will not bud, and there will be no growth on the vines. The olive tree does not yield, and the fields bring no food; Sheep will be uprooted from the pens, and there will be no oxen in the stalls. But I will rejoice in the Lord and be glad in God my salvation" (Habakkuk 3,17-18).

Micha: "Don't be happy about me, my enemy! Even if I lie down, I will get up again; and though I sit in darkness, yet the Lord is my light" (Mich 7,8).

Job: “And his wife said to him, Are you still steadfast in your godliness? Cancel God and die! But he said to her, You speak as foolish women speak. Have we received good from God and shouldn't we also accept evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips" (Job 2,9-10).

I like the example of Schadrach, Meschach and Abed-Nego best. When they were threatened with being burned alive, they said they knew God could save them. However, if he has decided not to do it, she is fine with that. (Daniel 3,16-18). They would love and praise God no matter how He decided.

To love and praise God is not so much a question of good or bad times or whether we win or lose. It's about loving him and trusting him, whatever happens. After all, this is the kind of love he gives us! Stay firm in the love of God.

by Barbara Dahlgren