Sunday 4 April, 2021

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? 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 then is the one who condemns? No one. 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.

This passage is a familiar and amazing statement of our faith. We have been rescued at a great cost – Christ death for us – so there is no way God will abandon us now. His love continues and nothing that happens will stop him loving us.

This means he is not responsible for bad events or situations we encounter in life but he loves us even though we are struggling. An easy life is not guaranteed for Christians, as if our faith was like magic warding off hard times. The guarantee is that God will still love us, just like when he rescued us by having Jesus die on the cross. That demonstration of his love shows us how much he loves us – v 32. So we rest secure in his love even when troubles come. Peterson in The Message version puts it this way – “None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us” v37. Not fazed? Wow that brings it home! You could say not panicked, not trying to second guess God, not blaming him or getting angry, not knocked off course from following Him by things which happen. Don’t be robbed of the blessing of God’s love in Jesus even when it all seems to be going pear shaped. He didn’t rescue us for that.

“As your love in wave after wave, crashes over me, crashes over me, You are for us, you are not against us…you make me Brave”

Dear Jesus, I love you. I thank you for dying for me. You showed me the heavenly Father’s love, which never stops, like the waves at the beach. You will be with me no matter what happens. I cant thank you enough. Amen

Written by Claire Moore