Hi,

Romans 8:31-39 is a powerful set of scriptures that is very popular with the Church. These are the verses that say that "we are more than conquerors" and that "nothing can ever separate us from the love of God" and "who dares accuse us ... no one." You may remember them. If not, I encourage you to read them. They can be an inspiration and a blessing.

But I like how the New Living Translation (NLT) translated verse 35. It reads, "Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? (This is one of those popular phrases.) Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?" Reading it this way brings out a great question. What does it mean to be separated from Christ's love? Usually when we think of this phrase we think of something coming between us and Christ. But here the translators redefine the meaning as "does it mean he no longer loves us".

Most of us would answer from our religious training saying Christ never stops loving us. But if we are honest with ourselves, most of us would say that when we are experiencing trouble or calamity or persecution or hunger or destitution or danger or a life-threatening situation that we find ourselves really wondering if Christ really does love us. After all how can Christ love us and then allow this to happen to us?

It is natural (or human) to think this way, but when it takes hold of our minds and hearts, when it creates doubt, it causes us to not experience Christ's love for us even though He has, in fact, never stopped loving us. You see, it is difficult to experience the love that someone has for us if we deeply believe that that someone does not love us. I think it is the same way with us and Christ. Christ never stops loving us. We just stop believing that He does. And when we do, it causes to experience a "separation" that really isn't there.

Paul urges us to always keep believing. He writes, "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love." Notice that word "convinced". "To convince" means to "overcome or overpower by argument." Paul says I have been overcome by argument, by the truth that I have come to know, that Christ loves me and will always love me no matter what may be going on in my life. How can Paul be so convinced? Paul wrote earlier in this section "Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?" For Paul, it was the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that "convinced" him. When Paul remembered the cross, he knew, he was convinced by the argument, that Christ loved him no matter what.

Are you convinced today? Truly convinced and not have it just be a religious platitude? Have you stopped believing that Christ loves you in the situation you are in? Are you able to feel His love for you where you are right now? I would encourage you to find that truth, that symbol, that scripture, or that experience that convinces you that Christ loves you, and allows you to believe no matter what that nothing, absolutely nothing, can or ever will separate you from His never ending love.

This Saturday night we will continue our discussion on the Holy Spirit by finishing up our questions on "Communion with the Holy Spirit" and beginning our conversation on "The Work of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives." I also want to remind you that we have a complete children's program on Saturday night with nursery, preschool and elementary age care. Hope to see you at LifeQuest this Saturday night.

Together, enabled by Christ's love for us and lived through us, we can ... ... ...

Live The Life,

Bruce

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