No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 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. | Romans 8.37-39
This Sunday, we talked about the LOVE of God and what it means to live a life outside of His love. We came to the conclusion that this would be impossible because this world is both an outworking of His love and exists to display the fullness of His love. Once we got that settled, we began to look at the layer upon layer of loving grace that God has given to us. I ended the service by reading the above verses, connecting us to the assurance that His love is the glue that holds this whole plan together.
I want to look a bit more closely at these verses, because from this we see that the love of God provides us with 3 things that are essential for human flourishing:
1. It gives us identity: through him who loved us.
We know who we are because He loves us. We know where we belong in the world: we are His people, the beloved. His love gives us belonging and purpose. Our lives are not about loving and serving God, who has restored us to Himself.
2. It gives us power: we are more than conquerors
This is not because we are powerful, but because He who loves us is in control of all things. His love is the source of our confidence. No longer do we need to strive to prove ourselves, we are already His.
3. It gives us assurance: [nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord
His love will hold us. It is what makes us who we are and the power by which we operate, but it is also unchanging. Last week, we talked about the doctrine of Immutability: God doesn’t change. His love toward His people is based on Himself. It exists whether we acknowledge it or not. He will love His people faithfully – NOTHING in heaven or on earth can prevent it. He is love.
In this, we see that all of the identity issues, inferiority complexes, loneliness, and fear or failure are all overcome by God’s love. This doesn’t mean we will never struggle with those things, but it does means that there is a means to push back against them. It is not all up to us; God loves us. In this love, He provides everything that we need to be authentically human.