Title: Unbreakable Love
Contents
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, For your sake we are killed all day long, and we are counted as sheep for the slaughter 37 But in all this? 38 We are more than conquerors through him who loves us. 38 I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, have made us who are in Christ Jesus our Lord. I will never be separated from God's love
1. Words that begin
There are many kinds of love in the world. There is love between friends, love between brothers and sisters, love between father and son, and love between husband and wife. Everyone is bound to live in various kinds of love relationships. Therefore, a person who has never been loved and does not know how to love cannot lead a righteous life. Also, such a person is likely to enter into a pathological love relationship, which will result in unhappy lives for himself and others.
It is so important and essential to receive the right love and to have the right love, but there is a tragedy in life that any kind of love will have to end. No matter how perfectly united love is, death coldly cuts off even that love. Even if it is not death, love is easily cut off by interests, misunderstandings, betrayal, ingratitude, spiritual conflicts, or Satan's tricks. But there is an eternal love that no one and nothing can break.
2. The Unbreakable Love of Christ
Human love, whether it is made by blood, by affection, by oath, or by interest, changes and breaks.
One day, a handsome young lady asked a young man who was not shy at all. But that day, the young man's wallet was empty. A young man sent a text message to his father. “I'm planning to go on a date with a nice girl, but I don't have the money. please." Then the reply came right away. “Money is enough. Send the lady.”
Of course, human love does not change or break when it is comfortable and flat or when there is no interest. But there is interest, or tribulation, or distress, or poverty, or great sorrow, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or nakedness, or peril, or a state of the sword. On the other hand, Christ's love for us always becomes stronger in such cases. The love of Christ to save us in all cases is so intense that no one can break anything. The more Satan tries to cut us off from the love of the Lord by using all of them, the more intense the love of the Lord becomes. It is as if the love of a loving parent always intensifies when a child faces sickness, suffering, or hardship.
Therefore, please believe that the reason we are persecuted for the Lord's sake, or temptation or tribulation by Satan is not the reason or condition for leaving the Lord, but rather the reason or condition for receiving the Lord's intense love.
2 Kings 18-19 tells the story of the prophet Elijah, who was active in the time of the evil king Ahab.
Idol worship flourished throughout the country because of King Ahab of Israel, one of the divided kingdoms, and Jezebel, a queen from a foreign country. At that time, the prophet Elijah alone waged a spiritual battle on Mount Carmel against 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, and after winning the victory, he descended to the brook Kishon and killed the prophets of Baal with the sword.
The prophet Elijah expected that there would be a reward from God, but instead of receiving a reward, he was forced to flee because of Jezebel's death threat. The prophet Elijah was sad because of God's disregard, and he felt disillusioned with humans because of the people who cheered and followed him. The prophet Elijah, exhausted from running away alone, came to the point of appealing to God to kill him. He was in a situation where he couldn't get worse until he got worse.
At that very moment, to Elijah, who was exhausted and fell asleep, God showed a wonderful and kind love that he had never done before. He sent an angel to caress him, gave him food and drink, and told him to get up and eat. He gave the same love again to the prophet Elijah, who ate, drank and lay down again, saying he was worried that he would not be able to overcome the road of his new mission. In the end, the prophet Elijah received powerful new strength through God's special love, and was able to start a new mission after 40 days.
Guys, don't you sometimes feel that God is neglecting you? Do you sometimes feel that God is not answering your prayers? Do you sometimes feel that believing in Jesus is of no use? God stretches out his special loving hand at the most appropriate time in His sight. Please believe that the case where the love of all human beings is inevitably changed and is inevitably broken is the case in which the love of the Lord can only come more intensely.
The problem is, the serious problem is that we don't believe in the love of the Lord God and let go of that powerful love line. In Matthew 23:37 we read, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times have I tried to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. Behold, your house will be left desolate.”
3. Victory through the love of the Lord
Even though we are being killed for the Lord's sake all day long and are regarded as sheep for the slaughter, all we need to do is believe in the Lord who overcame death and rose again and the power of His love. In any difficult situation or any crisis situation, if we believe in the Lord of eternal life, entrust ourselves, and receive His love, we can surely overcome it.
Sister Stonewell Jackson rode a ferry across the rushing river below the majestic Niagara Falls. I was anxious and afraid when the boat shook violently with the strong waves. Then, Jackson grabbed his brother's arm and asked the boatman. “Do you often pass by here?” The boatman said, “Of course. I've been passing by this place for 12 years.” Also, Jackson asked, "Have you ever had a boat capsize or lost your life?" Then the boatman replied, “Not at all.”
Jackson looked at his brother and spoke wisely. “Did you listen to the boatman? I don't know if you can row better than him, but if you can't, just sit quietly like me and trust him and trust us.
The Apostle Paul, who entrusted everything to the Lord and served as the Lord's servant in the midst of constant persecution, tribulation, and countless crises of death, made an amazing confession. “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37.
As people of faith, please believe that we can win as much as we want with the love of the Lord. You have to believe in the Lord who loves you so that you can not just win, but overcome it with great ease. There can be no defeat for the saints who believe in the Lord and hold fast to the line of love. There is only victory through the love of the Lord. The reason is that neither death, nor angels or authorities, beings of the spirit realm, nor all things present and future, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, can separate us from the love of God in our Lord Jesus
Nothing can separate us from the saving love of God revealed in Christ Jesus. There is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God who justifies us, enables us to live a holy life, and resurrects us with a spiritual body.
If there's only one problem, it's that you don't accept that amazing and immense love of God. It is to leave the arms of that great love. There are people who turn away from the Lord because of petty greed. There are church members who reject the Lord's great love because of a small human love. Some people leave the arms of the Lord's love because they can't overcome their guilt. But under no circumstances should it be an excuse to reject the Lord and his love. The more you do, the more you must believe in the Lord and accept His great love.
4. Conclusion
The most important thing in the world is love, and the strongest thing in the world is love. But the question is whether the love we give and receive is the right kind of love. The bigger problem is that all human love has a time to end. Even if it is not death, love can be cut off by interests, misunderstandings, betrayal, ingratitude, spiritual conflicts, or Satan's tricks. But there is God's eternal love that no one, nothing, even death can break. No matter what happens, even if a person commits the sin of being unable to stand before God with his face raised, he must not depart from the love of the Lord. Rather, we must hold on to the great love of the Lord more strongly. Only then can we defeat Satan, who leads the path of misery and destruction, and win.
(Pungseong Methodist Church. Book: Complete New Testament Commentary Series/ Interpretation of difficult scriptures/ Prosperous prayer/ Salvation Before Jesus Came/ Salvation Before Jesus Came/ Understanding Paul’s Humanity/ Sermonbook 18. 426-3051)