Separation part 4
I think yesterday I was trying and trying and trying to say, "And 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. No 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" (Romans 8:38-39 NLT). Everything was made BY love, FOR love. And nothing can separate us FROM love. And here's the two key points I want to focus on today: 1. "Neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow." 2. "Revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." So. First things first. There is no fear in love. Love is fearless. Love doesn't care what's going to happen next. He WANTS the best for us, but if we don't receive the gift He's given He doesn't force it on us either. Remember that part about if you aren't received then just shrug your shoulders and move on? Love doesn't give in order to get. Love gives because He wants you to have. Love gives HIMSELF because He wants you to experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love. What am I saying? Love isn't afraid to give everything He has and everything He is, even though (to some degree) He may be rejected. He isn't worried about what comes next, or what MIGHT happen. He just does what He does because its in His heart to do it. Love made me do it. That's one of my mottos. So the biggest reason we cannot be separated from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord... is because God doesn't want us to be separated from it. From HIM. When we ran away, He drew us back to Himself. When we hid from His presence, He shined the light of the world. And that's the second key for today. God's love is revealed in His Son. In the SACRIFICE of His Son. God showed us His love by giving His only begotten Son to us. By literally dying for us (and as us) on the cross. He basically said, "I would rather die than be without you." And think about that--WE ran from Him. He gave up His life to bring us back. He didn't hold our sins and trespasses against us. He did what needed to be done to bring us back into unity. So that we could understand what Jesus meant when He said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). So that we could live His life by letting Him live it in us, and through us, and as us. So that OUR misguided idea of separation--the lie that says you have to do in order to be--could be obliterated by the truth--that we already are, and that we do BECAUSE we be! That's the power of love. That's the power of being in sync with our true identity. God's love was revealed in the person of Jesus. Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. And that is what we are capable of; loving each other with the love that we are loved with. Living a fearless life without separation from God... or each other. A life of love. Like I said yesterday, and this is where I think I'm going to end this Rant series tomorrow, love is the tie that binds us together!