The Apostle Paul asks the question, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? This is a common question to ask at the loss of a loved one. We are separated from our loved one and we might feel separated from the love of Christ. When the Grief and pain seem unbearable. If Jesus loves me, why am I experiencing this pain?
Paul addresses this from his own experience of troubles that he faced. Yet, no matter how long, how deep or how difficult they were, none of his troubles were sufficient to separate him from Christ’s love.
What were the troubles Paul had faced, and none of which separated him from the love of God.
He had been in prison frequently.
Paul had been flogged severely on multiple occasions.
He was exposed to death again and again.
Five times he received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
Three times he was beaten with rods.
One time he was pelted with stones.
Three times he was shipwrecked; he spent a night and a day in the open sea.
He was constantly on the move.
He was in in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from his fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.
He labored and toiled and often went without sleep.
He knew hunger and thirst and had often gone without food; He had suffered being cold and naked.
Besides everything else, he faced daily the pressure of his concern for all the churches.
This is the 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 list of his troubles that we read about through his journeys and writings. In the troubles we do well to remember Christ’s love for us is not measured by our experience or our circumstances, but Christ’s perfect love is great, even in our suffering.
Jesus himself knew sorrow. He shed tears at the death of his own friend. He was shaken by the death of his cousin, John the Baptist. Jesus experienced the pain of suffering when he was betrayed by men and inflicted with the agony of the cross.
But God’s love came bursting through as we commemorate every Easter season as we remember the betrayal, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Not only does God say to the Christian you can conquer this, but He says you are more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 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, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 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 8:35-39)
The rain falls on the just and the unjust. Our faith in Christ does not mean we escape troubles. It does not mean we never lose a loved one. Yet, our faith in Christ changes everything. Jesus death on the cross conquered death. It means when we lose a loved one who is a believer in Christ, like Terry then we do not grieve as one who has no hope. We have hope. We know to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ.
So as believers in Christ we are not escaping troubles. But we are experiencing the love of God through the troubles. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
A cistern holds water as a tank. When the water is drawn it dries up. A wellspring, the underground spring provides water that does not dry up. The water is constantly replenished. This kind of spiritual wellspring is what the Christian experiences living by faith in Christ. The difficulties come, but the love of God flows. It replenishes even through troubles, stress, and grief.
How do we recognize the love of Christ when troubles come our way? A businessman found out that fire destroyed almost all his business property. He was left devastated. He had been planning a family trip but the fire changed their plans. He sent his wife and children on ahead and he stayed back to work on the fallout of the fire. He would join them later.
The man’s name is Horatio Spafford. He is famous now for writing the hymn, It Is Well with my Soul. Spafford put his wife and four daughters on the ship to sail for England. The ship collided with another ship and sank. Spafford received the telegram from his wife that she survived and all four of their daughters died it the shipwreck. Spafford lost his business and his four daughters in a short time.
Safford sailed to meet his wife. Along the way the captain showed his the place were the ship sank that took the lives of his daughters. That is when he wrote his famous hymn.
When peace like a river, attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul
But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.
It is well
With my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul (Horatio Spafford)
Spafford faced the deepest pain when he lost his children. In this God flooded his soul with peace. He left us with one of the most meaningful hymns we turn to when we are facing our deepest pain.
Paul says I am persuaded. In other words, he is saying, this is my firm conviction. That, whatever his troubles were, whatever your troubles are, they cannot separate us from the love of God. Death is mentioned as something that cannot separate us from Christ’s love.
Before Terry died he shared his salvation story with me in the hospital. Look at the preceding verse. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Terry was saved by putting his faith in Jesus Christ.
That is why Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. It was Christ’s love that compelled him to die on the cross. It is that same love that no one can drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love. We cannot be separated from the love of Christ. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
When you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your savior you have forgiveness of sins. When you walk by faith you are a conqueror, even more than a conqueror. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Terry knows the love of Christ not in part but in whole. There will be troubles and we need a personal relationship with God through faith in Christ to go through them.
Terry is absent in the body and present with the Lord. He is experiencing the glory of dwelling with Christ in heaven. The pain of your have now at Terry’s death may seem insurmountable. There has been a lot of difficulty. Because of the love of God you are more than a conqueror.
You are in the midst of grief, but you can say, It is well it is well with my soul. You can say nothing can separate me from the love of Christ.
