Oh The Deep Love of Jesus

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Scripture:

Rom. 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Rom. 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
Rom. 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Observation:

Paul has spent time expounding on the possibilities available to God’s people who are living in the Spirit.  The life transformation is radical as everything is focused, not on the flesh, but upon life in the Spirit.  It is the Spirit who leads into all aspects of life and living.  The result is that the love of God is poured in and through his people and this love becomes the very substance which brings all of who we are and what we do into cohesion. 

We are encouraged by Paul that we can be “more than conquerors.”  I have been traveling this last week through Germany and England and seeing site after site where people conquered one another.  It may have been the Romans, or the Anglo-Saxons, or one prince after another, but people were in the business of conquering one another.  However, conquering was just the beginning of a new reign.  As followers of Christ we are “more” than conquerors, for it is not just about winning a victory but about entering into a new life and lifestyle in the kingdom of God.  That’s why focusing only on the event of conquering leaves one without experiencing the joy and love that exists in the new kingdom.  How unfulfilling, but too many people find themselves there.

This love, about which Paul speaks, is eternal and reaches to every single pour of our lives.  God’s love can reach out to us at the depths of our deepest need.  Therefore in pain, sorrow, suffering and also at the moments of greatest joy, God can be found there!  The things of this world will not and cannot separate us from God’s love.  This is the depth of what he has to offer to those who are now in Christ Jesus — living in the new kingdom.

Application:

How often do we miss out on this incredibly deep love because we create our own personal barriers to him?  We don’t allow the love of God to flow into every pore because there are areas that we refuse to open up to his leadership.  We want to live in the kingdom — sort of — but not totally.  We like the idea of victory for what it may offer to us, but to fully live in the kingdom, that seems a bit uncomfortable.  We may try to have one foot in the old kingdom and one in the new.  What kind of victory is that?  There is no enjoyment of the new kingdom.  Too often we focus extraordinarily on conquering that we forget about what is to come.

God wants to pour out his incredibly deep love on us, a love that will permeate every part of our beings and our lives.  In this we will live life in the new kingdom and his love will reach to every moment of our lives, the good and the bad.  We must open ourselves up to this deep love.  Let God come.  Let God fill.  Enjoy the presence of Jesus.  Then you will know the peace of sitting and drinking in the deep, deep love of my Jesus. 


Prayer:

Lord, your love overwhelms me.  Amen.


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