The Unconquerable Love of Jesus

Today would have been my son Jim’s 35th birthday. My wife and I plan on going out to the cemetery to put a few fresh flowers on his grave and then spending the rest of the day hanging out together giving comfort and love to each other. Even though it has been seven years since Jim went home to be with our Lord and Savior, it sometimes feels just like yesterday when my wife and I received that devastating news of his suicide. Sometimes the hardest emotion to overcome is the guilt that comes from not being there when your child needs you the most.

God has been so good to us over the years and has given us so many blessings. I want to personally let all of you mom and dads out there know that if you have ever had a child die, for any reason, my sincere condolence and prayers go out to you. I can tell you personally that even though the grief and pain returns every now and then, I can testify to you this day that you can still have the peace, joy and happiness if you have Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.

I would like to share with you some verses found in the Book of Romans that has given me comfort and peace over the years. These verses make it clear that whatever happens in your life… know matter what; you will never be separated from the love of God.

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8: 37-39)

These verses contain one of the most comforting promises in all Scripture. Believers have always had to face hardships in many forms: persecution, illness, imprisonment, even death. These could cause them to fear that they have been abandoned by Christ. But Paul exclaims that it is impossible to be separated from Christ. His death for us is proof of His unconquerable love. Nothing can stop Christ’s constant presence with us. God tells us how great His love is so that we will feel totally secure in Him. If we believe these overwhelming assurances, we will not be afraid.

Therefore, if no one can successfully oppose us (Romans 8:31), charge us (Romans 8:33), or condemn us (Romans 8: 34) with regard to our personal relationship with God, then it follows that no one can separate us from Christ’s love for us. The list in Romans 8:35 cover the full range of experiences that could seem to pose a challenge to the reality of Christ’s love. The trials and difficulties listed in this verse, not only do not separate us from Christ’s love, they make us more than conquerors by forcing us to depend even more on God. Those who love God (Ps. 44:17–22) have always had to face death daily (2 Cor. 4:11).

As believers in Christ, we know there are "powers" (Romans 8:38) that are unseen forces of evil in the universe, forces like Satan and his fallen angels (Ephesians 6:12). In Christ we are super-conquerors, and His love will protect us from any such forces. Absolutely nothing can separate believers from God’s love. The apostle Paul struggles for words to describe the absolute certainty of God’s love for believers. Nothing hard or dangerous, neither death nor life, can separate us. If God, the uncreated One, is for us, and no created thing can separate us, then our security in Him is absolute.

The apostle Paul wrote these words to a church that would soon undergo terrible persecution. In just a few years, Paul’s hypothetical situations would turn into painful realities. This passage reaffirms God’s profound love for His people. No matter what happens to us, no matter where we are, we can never be lost to His love. Suffering should not drive us away from God, but help us to identify with Him further and allow His love to reach us and heal us.

Father God, I continue daily to thank You for all of the blessings that You have given to me over the years. Thank you Lord for my salvation and the peace, joy and happiness just knowing that someday, in Your timing, I will be in Your presence. Thank You Lord… Thank You Lord. Amen.

References: NKJV Holy Bible, Life Application Bible (NIV), and the Nelson Study Bible.