How Much Does God Love Me?

Rom 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
Rom 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I was reading this scripture last week and found it quite reassuring. I decided to break it down in my mind and then try to see exactly what it meant to me.

As I go through the struggles of my life I find it troublesome once in awhile that God seems so far from my reach. As the day goes on I begin to tell myself that He doesn't really care about my struggles or that maybe He is just too darn busy to care about what an insignificant person such as myself might be going through. Even better, He must be looking down at my circumstances and saying to me, "Well, there you go again, screwed up again didn't you!"

Well, nothing could be further from the truth.

Verses 38-39 of Romans 8 help me to realize just how difficult it would be for His love to ever be apart from me. There is absolutely nothing that can separate me from His love. It has always been there for me, is there for me now, and will continue to be there for me as long as eternity exists.

So what does that mean exactly? If His love for me is eternal and will never leave then that must say something about His character. The issue isn't about God, it is about me. How do I perceive the character of God and His love? That is the question I must ask myself. If God has assured me that nothing will ever separate His love from me then that must mean to me that there is something about God that allows Him to remain consistent in His dealings with man, and especially in my case, with me.

So I started with the beginning. "For I am convinced"... well, here is a problem right from the start. I am not always convinced, that is the problem. My emotions go up and then they go down. Sometimes they even go sideways... I guess the first step to understanding Gods love starts with me... I need to work on the "convinced" part. Not just when it feels right, but daily by diving into the Word and seeing His consistent nature and how He deals with me and others just like me.

Next, "that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing,"... now that is a lot of things. God has assured me that my own death and life can't change Gods love for me. Principalities can not separate me from His love, so Satan, be gone! Now things today nor tomorrow can't change it so that gives me confidence that no matter how tomorrow goes, He will still love me just the same. Powers, height, depth, nor any other created thing... wow, that pretty much covers the full spectrum of things now doesn't it. Virtually speaking; nothing, nada, zippo!

"Nothing" will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Love of God. What an awesome thing. The creator of the heavens and the earth loves me and assures me that nothing can can separate His love from me.

Back to what I was saying earlier about His character. So what is so great about the Love of God anyway? Well, let me just start with the cross. Jesus. God loved me so much that He allowed His own blood to spill on the cross for my transgressions. He took my punishment for my sin. How amazing is that? I have many children of my own and if God came to me and asked me to give one of them up for the sins of all humanity I am sure He would probably have to pry one of them out of my hands. He allowed Jesus to go and Jesus allowed himself to go... the perfect model of free will. (that topic will come another day)

John 3:16 tells me that He loved me so much He gave His only son for me. And John 15:13 tells me that there is no greater love than to lay down your life. And in the book of Romans it tells us again in chapter 5 verse 8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

So God gave His son for me and I am completely in debt to Him for that. And if I look at 1Corinthians chapter 13 verses 4-8 I get just a glimpse of what Gods love looks like:

1Co 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
1Co 13:5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
1Co 13:6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
1Co 13:7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1Co 13:8 Love never fails

So back once again to the character of God. He loves me so much that He was willing to give His son. He also loves me like it shows in Corinthians. Wow, that means that He really does care about my struggles and the things I go through every day. Not just a little bit but to the point where He will never lead me astray and will always give me direction on where to turn next. He will be patient with me when I mess things up. He will not take into account a wrong suffered. He will believe in me and endure my hardships with me. He will bear my burdens and will rejoice with my victories. He will never fail me.

God loves me far more than I could ever imagine. When times are good or times are difficult His love for me never changes and will never depart from me. There is so much comfort in that.

weapher