"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"
Romans 8:35
The mother had given birth to her first child. As she held him in her arms, she said, "You don't know how much I love you, and my love for you will never end." As a child grows, he may experience more and more of a mother's love. As believers grow in Christ, we are able to experience more and more of His love for us. The apostle Paul concluded in his letter to the Romans that nothing in life nor death could separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
The experience of the love of God comes to the believer through the Holy Spirit. "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:5). Love is the greatest gift of God's Spirit (1 Cor. 13:13). Love is the very essence of God's nature (1 John 4:8). Love is the sure sign that we know God (1 John 4:7). The love of God within us expresses itself in love for others. "If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us" (1 John 4:12).
Karl Barth was a world renowned theologian. On a trip to the University of Chicago, at a press conference, he was asked, "What is the greatest theological discovery that you have ever made?" He paused and then said, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." It was far from what the press expected to hear, but it is the greatest theological discovery that anyone could make. Have you made that discovery? God loves you. He wants you to receive His love. He desires to love others through you. His love never ends.
Prayer: Father, we receive Your love for us that never ends, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
