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.
I have read this verse many times in my lifetime and even spoken time and again about the depth of God’s love and grace for us quoting this verse. In all honesty though, I never truly understood this idea of God’s grace until Eli was born.
Think about this verse in the aspect of being a parent. Will there be times Eli lets Lindsey and I down? Absolutely! Will there be times he disappoints us? Without a doubt! Moments where you just want to scream and pull the gray hair he has caused you out? Already happening at times!
Will we ever stop loving him? Never!
To understand this though, I’ve had to reexamine myself the commands of Scripture and why they are there.
Are there going to be moments that he breaks the rules of the house? This makes me think of when I was a kid. Did I break the rules, then? Yeah! He will too. Will he blatantly disobey us at times because he thinks he knows better? I think all kids go through that phase at one point or another. Speaking of rules, let’s talk about that for a second.
In Scripture there are rules, commands if you will, that many see as God’s way of taking away our fun. He’s being a stickler, waiting to catch us when we screw up, or just sitting in heaven, as the righteous judge, waiting to cast down some thunder. What if those commands, though, are truly him wanting what is best for us? What if those commands are there to protect us? Maybe his way of pointing us back towards Himself and showing us that we cannot do this life on our own? What if God’s commands are truly there for our best interest?
I remember thinking to myself, as a kid, I knew better than my parents. That their rules were old fashioned, and did it really matter if I broke a few of those rules. It really isn’t that big of a deal, now is it? However as a parent now myself, I have come to understand those rules of the house are there because I want what’s best for Eli. This was just like what my parents wanted for me. I have, also, come to realize that God’s laws and commands, are there because God desires what is best for me.
Now, am I naive to think that Eli will never break a rule of the house or disobey Lindsey and I. If only it were that simple. The reality is though, he will let us down and disappoint us at times. We may have to sit him down and have multiple talks about certain subjects. In those moments, however, will we ever stop loving him? No, because this is where grace comes in. As well as that verse from so many years ago. Now I see differently as a parent, helping me to understand the depth of God’s love. Like that verse says, I don’t believe there is anything lil man could do that would ever make me stop loving him.
As a children of God, the same is true us. Will there be moments we let him down, break his commands? I would love to say no, but because of sinful nature it will happen at times. Will God ever stop loving us? According to Paul’s words here, I say an emphatic no!
Take comfort in that! That is grace.
Phillip Yancey says this in What’s So Amazing About Grace, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you more. There is nothing you can do to make God love you less.”
As a child of His, GOD LOVES YOU!
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