God's Unfailing Love

Thinking back over the 66 years with Jesus my Lord, Shepherd and friend, many things stand out that show his faithful love, grace, forgiveness, power and gifts, but what has most amazed me, captivated and drawn me to him again and again, to love, serve and follow him, is his love.

Paul has always been as inspiration and a challenge to me in his passion to know Christ and to make him known. (Although I recognize that Paul and I are quite different!) Paul speaks of Jesus as “the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) He declares as his deepest motivation the “the love of Christ compels us.” (2 Corinthians 5:14) His highest goal for himself and the Christians in Ephesus was “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19) He throws out the question to his readers in Rome, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” (Romans 8:35) And he answers that challenge emphatically, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. for I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39)

To which I reply, “Amen.” I invite you to look back over your life and add your own “Amen” to this amazing love of Christ. In the words of Psalm 34:3, “Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.”