|
Musings on Faith #23 Who Shall Separate Us? | |
|
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? . . . 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 8:35a; 38-39, NIV)." Who can separate us from the love of God? No one! No one! No one! Neither in this life nor in death, which is only a transition to the next life ["We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord (2nd Corinthians 5:8)."]
No one can separate us - we who have accepted His Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior and Lord - from the love of God, but there is one person who can separate us from fellowship with God. That one person is ourselves. And when we separate ourselves from fellowship with Him, we prevent Him from showering us with the fullness of His blessings and bring trouble, pain and heartache upon ourselves and others around us - family, friends, fellow workers - and discredit to our witness. "God is faithful, by whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord (1st Corinthians 1:9, KJV)." When we fail to study His Word, pray to the Father through the intercession of Christ Jesus, and commune with the Holy Spirit, we fall out of full fellowship with God and His Son. Likewise when we fail to maintain fellowship with fellow believers. |
(Continued) "Praying with much entreaty that we would . . . take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints (2nd Corinthians 8:4, KJV)." When we meet together as believers, we minister to one another by the sharing of our faith, and by prayer for one another, and as we fellowship with one another we also fellowship with Him in whose Name we gather, whether in Church or around the supper table. "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye may also have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ (1st John 1:3, KJV)." Thus we strengthen one another in the faith. Jesus said "I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:32, NIV)." In other words, we are to encourage one another. "But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go thither: encourage him (Deuteronomy 1:38, KJV)." And when we encourage fellow believers, we ourselves are encouraged, just as we are encouraged when we fellowship with God, and with Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit, in prayer, in meditation, in studying His Word, and in communion with the indwelling Holy Spirit. No one can separate us from the love of God. Let us not separate ourselves from His fellowship! Yours in Christ, Tom Woodard |
|
Go to Index Musings on Faith  | |