AtomThe Wonderful Love of God
Romans 8:26-35, 37-39
Let’s sing the lesson…it goes like this:
For I’m persuaded to believe nothing can separate us from the wonderful love of God.
From above He will save us as His Spirit lives within us while in this sinful world we trod.
Neither height nor depth nor principalities, things present nor things to come
Though the devil hate us he will never separate us from the wonderful love of God.
This lesson from Roman’s is PACKED with the story of God’s incredible grace, love and mercy given to his people through Jesus. And, it’s wrapped in the waters of baptism…Romans 6!!
Let’s dig in…and if you want your lesson in front of you as we go…
“We know that IN ALL THINGS GOD works for good for those who love God!!”
Let’s start by taking a closer look at this verse…
How many times, when tragedies strike, illnesses happen, death occurs have you heard:
“There must be a reason” suggesting that God was part of the causation of the issue?
I cannot count the number of times that I’ve heard, at the death of a child, “God needed another angel in heaven!!”
Their names were Beth and Craig…eagerly expecting their second child. But then, at the doctor’s appointment a couple weeks before the due date…they learned that their child had died in the womb…and shortly thereafter Beth delivered their still born child. It was awful!!
But, there’s more to the story: not only did they have to endure the many times people would say something like, “God needed another angel in heaven”…which brought them no comfort at all…Beth’s own mom said to her a week after the funeral…
“I know why your baby died…it was to make me more sensitive to the needs of others!”
And Beth was dumb-struck. “You mean to say”, she said, “that God caused the death of my child in order to make you more sensitive…if that be true, not only would I want NOTHING to do with a God like that…but that is one of the most insensitive things I’ve ever heard!!”
Yet when someone says, “God needed another angel in heaven”…this is often what is heard…that God caused this tragedy to take place…
forgetting that we live in a sin-marred world where evil things take place…naturally!!
Listen again: “We know that in all things, God works for good for those who love God.”
Notice nowhere here…or anywhere…are “all things” labeled as Good. Even later in these verses, hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword….none of them are labeled as good. No…they are far from good. Which tells us again: The promise is not that all things are good…the promise is that in the midst of all things, God can work for good!!
Pastor Chet Holverstein from Trinity Lutheran in Brainerd used to remind us young pastors to call evil what it is. And then, he would talk about the manure piles of life…only he used another word for manure.
He would say, “Let’s always call the manure piles in life what they are…they are evil, they are not of God…they are part of the sin of the world in which we live!!”
“However”, he would quickly continue, “let’s always remember that God can grow incredible flowers on these manure piles of life…and THAT is what God does”. As Paul writes: “In ALL THINGS, God works for Good for those who love God and are called according to HIS purpose.”
The Old Testament leader Joseph knew this!! Remember his words to his brothers after they threw him in pit, sold him into slavery…and then discovered who he was as a leader in Eqypt?
Joseph said to his brothers, “You intended this for evil…GOD worked it for Good!!”
Selling into slavery is evil…in all things, God works for Good!!
On Thursday, as we shared communion together at one of our communion services in the community, a member of our community of faith was telling me and the others of her battle with cancer…and telling of how, when she needed to travel to Fargo every day for many weeks for radiation therapy…one granddaughter quickly said, “Grandma, I have every Tuesday and Thursday off and I’m going to drive you everyone of those days!!”
Now, weeks after the treatment ended, this grandma told of how precious these drives became to her and to her grand-daughter. She told of how they talked and shared and prayed in ways they never would have if not for this time together…twice a week for so many weeks.
At that point in her story…I asked her if, because of this, she would call the cancer good!!
“NO” was her quick response. However…part of the “goodness of God” in the midst of this cancer because the deepened relationship with her grand-daughter!!
And, at this worship last week, we acknowledged again, God works IN ALL THINGS FOR GOOD…that’s God’s nature…that’s what God is all about. God is NOT the cause of evil things…God is in the midst of ALL things…seeking Good in the midst of evil things.
God does NOT “take” babies…but he sure is ready to “receive” them into the place he prepared!!”
WHY? Because of HIS DEEP LOVE for his children!! God’s way is the way of LOVE in-spite-of anything and everything…we hear this as Paul continues in our lesson today!!
31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For 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 anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For I’m persuaded to believe nothing can separate us from the wonderful love of God…
Paul personally had experienced his list…hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword!! These come from HIS life experiences. Today let’s ask…What words, situations, THINGS, are part of your life experiences today…that you bring to worship?
Altzheimers, cancer, strained relationships, stained living, addictions, divorce, shame, death, unforgiven sin, … you fill in YOUR life situations…
In the midst of all, God’s promise to you is…
In all things God does work for Good…and…There is NOTHING; NOTHING that can separate YOU from the Love of God given in Christ Jesus our Lord!!
There was a wise Norwegian who once said…and indeed….there was a wise Norwegian…
Egotistical is the one who thinks they have done something so bad that God cannot love them and forgive them. (say again!!)
For I’m persuaded to believe nothing can separate us from the wonderful love of God.
From above He will save us as His Spirit lives within us while in this sinful world we trod.
Neither height nor depth nor principalities, things present nor things to come
Though the devil hate us he will never separate us from the wonderful love of God.
Oftentimes we hear these words of promise and God’s love spoken at funerals…and they are appropriate words for a funeral.
However…I believe these words are even more appropriate for the everyday living of God’s people.
In our Baptism…God declared us to be children of God…we were sealed and marked:
remember the word…FOREVER!!!
And today, we remember this promise of God is SURE…NO MATTER WHAT!!!
Now, to be sure, there are those in our day and age who suggest that God, at some point, will give up on his children…and most of the time, I hear this when it’s suggested God gives up on his people because His people are living in ways contrary to God’s will…as they define it!!
In response I ask, “Is there any place in these verses…or elsewhere in the scriptures where we hear that God gives up on his people…his baptized children?”
Rather, I recall Jesus telling parables about his NOT giving up:
parables about the lost coin, lost sheep, lost son…
A few verses earlier in Romans it says,
“Now there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Thus, to this question, “Does God give up on his people”, perhaps a modern day parable is in order…
“DAD…I want NOTHING more to do with you”, screamed the daughter in an angry tone. “I’m out of here!!” And in a fit of rage she slammed the door…walked out to the car of her “unapproved boyfriend” and off they went.
As the months and years passed, every night Dad prayed and wondered…prayed and wondered and waiting for some word of his beloved daughter…until the day the phone rang…with a New York City Police caller ID!!
“Is this Mr. Jones, the father of Susan Jones”, the voice asked reluctantly? “Yes”, answered the father tentatively as he remembered his daughter.
“This is Officer Smith of the New York City Police department…and, I regret to let you know that we have found the body of your daughter Mr. Jones. She seemed to have been caught up in some…ah…some difficult issues…and…well…we’re wondering if you would you want to come and claim her to take her home for a funeral or should we just do that here?”
What would you do if you were Mr. or Mrs. Jones? What would I DO?
Of COURSE I could claim her. I claim her because she IS my daughter…Not because she WAS my daughter…but because She IS my daughter.
And, if our love for our children is this deep…how much more is God’s love for HIS CHILDREN!! Remember Jesus’ own words in Matthew 7….
Jesus asks, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Today we are reminded of the height and width and breath of God’s Love…reminded that:
In all things, God indeed works for Good…and, because of HIS love for us, there is NOTHING…NOTHING in all creation that is able to separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord…
As people of God…we’re invited to live confidently in this Love, to celebrate this Love, and to give this love away…this extravagant Love of the Lord Jesus.
Sing with me as we close…sing as a way to remember this great truth of our loving God…
For I’m persuaded to believe nothing can separate us from the wonderful love of God.
From above He will save us as His Spirit lives within us while in this sinful world we trod.
Neither height nor depth nor principalities, things present nor things to come
Though the devil hate us he will never separate us from the wonderful love of God.
Amen.
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