Never ending love

DEVOTION

ROMANS

NEVER ENDING LOVE

Rom 8:31-39

31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."  

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NIV

Having dealt with God giving us all things, let’s turn our attention to the idea of being separated from the love of Christ. Nothing at all! However, Paul makes sure we understand what all is. First, the nothing includes the condition of life: trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword are all situations we could find ourselves in during the course of our lives. None of that would have any effect on how much Christ loves us. He does not stop loving us just because we are hungry, or experiencing hardship or trouble. We might be tempted to think Jesus doesn’t care about us when our life situation is not so good, but we would be wrong. Satan would want us to believe Jesus stopped loving us because we are without something we need, like food and clothing. But Jesus does not stop loving us. As humans it is difficult to understand a never ending love because so often we hear people say, “I Just don’t love you anymore”. Divorce is filled with love coming to an end. People loved each other when they were married, but then something happens and that love is revoked. Jesus never revokes his love for us. He is always there before the Father interceding on our behalf. There is not any power in the spiritual realm that can separate us from his love. This is so comforting to know Jesus will never stop loving us. Even when we fail him, he still loves us. People cannot say that. We have actually heard mothers threaten their children about not loving them if they continue to misbehave. We know they won’t, at least we hope they wouldn’t, but the idea of voicing that out loud is just plain nasty. Jesus would never tell us he would stop loving us just because we misbehave. He went to the cross and died a horrible death while we were yet sinners. That is how much he loves us. In fact, that is how much he loves everyone, even those who have not yet accepted him and are still living as sinners. This idea of the never ending love of Jesus is supposed to carry over into our lives. We are supposed to love the same way Jesus does. We always seem to quote the two greatest commands about loving God with our whole being and loving our neighbor as ourselves, but he also told us to love each other as he loves us.

John 13:34-35

34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." 

So then how much does Jesus love us? That is how much we are supposed to love each other, with a never ending love.