Where Is God’s Love Now?

11th Sunday after Pentecost, 8/16/20
Romans 8:35-39


Where Is God’s Love Now?
I. It’s always in Christ.
II. So we super-conquer our troubles.


It’s a scene that likely plays out countless times every day. A toddler stumbles and falls, hitting her head. She immediately begins crying hysterically. Her mother is right there and she quickly analyzes the situation. There’s no blood. No scrape. A small bruise might appear tomorrow. But there’s no need for medical attention. But the little girl still cries hysterically. So, what does her mother do? She pulls her daughter onto her lap, hugs her, softly kisses her head, and tells her quietly, “Everything is OK. Mommy’s right here.” And within a minute or two the crying stops. Soon after that, her daughter resumes playing. Feeling the love of her mother made all the difference to this girl.

A husband and wife experience a tragedy with one of their children. Their teenage son has been in a terrible accident and is in serious condition in the hospital. The doctors think he’ll live, but he’ll face months of rehabilitation. The present and the future are not bright, but both husband and wife love each other and, together, they’re confident they can and will get through it. Feeling loved will make a huge difference as they do what they can for their son.

In situations like those, it’s easy to see and feel the love. It’s so evident! And when that love is absent in a situation, that’s easy to see and know as well.

But how do you tell if you’re loved by your God? You can’t crawl into his lap, like that little girl did. You can’t hug him, as surely that husband and wife did as they faced their son’s tragedy. How do you feel God’s love? Where do you find it? How do you know if it even exists? Those are good questions, ones we all ask ourselves from time to time. Especially when tragedy strikes.

And even when we push on to the next day in the situation that we’re currently in. With all the troubles we’re facing right now, where is God’s love now?

The Apostle Paul answers that question in this portion of God’s word before us this morning. And he has some astounding, faith-building answers for us. So, let’s ask our question and see what he has to tell us. Where is God’s love now?

Part I.

I’ve done a fair amount of pre-marital counseling over the years. And I always ask the bride and groom to be, “What does it take to make a marriage?” Most often I receive answers such as love, friendship, respect, and trust. And I assure the couple that those are all good answers and important aspects for their marriage, but then I show them from the Bible that marriage is a commitment. It’s a lifelong commitment to live as husband and wife. Their love for and trust in each other flow out of that commitment.

Our God has always had and always will have a perfect and undying commitment to us—a commitment to bless us eternally. But that commitment had nothing to do with how lovable we are or even could be. Quite the contrary! Take a look at humankind’s response to the only true God. It’s isn’t pretty! In fact, it shameful, ugly, and deplorable. The Bible states the truth when it declares that, by nature, we want nothing to do with God.

So, why would God want anything to do with us? Because he has an eternal, faithful love for each and every sinner. He loves each sinful person so much that he wants to spend eternity with him or her.

And that love for all sinners caused him to promise a Savior from sin almost immediately after sin entered the world. His love for all sinners moved him to act on that promise and send his Son into the world as the Savior of all sinners.

That saving activity of our God cost him nothing less than his Son. Think about it. God didn’t sacrifice just anything so that he could love you forever. He didn’t even sacrifice his second best for you; he sacrificed his best. Jesus’ death on Calvary’s cross was and is the ultimate act of God’s love for the whole world of sinners. For you personally.

And by that sacrifice God made you his own, not so that he could use you, but so that he could love you as his own. By faith in Jesus you belong to him and you live in his love for you. In a little while we’ll talk about all the troubles you’re facing in your life, but none of them change the fact that God loves you and you live in that love.

He loves you because he simply wants to bless you forever. He loves you so much he wants you to spend eternity with him. And that eternal blessed future with your God depends nothing on what you can do. It’s all centered in what God already did for you when he sacrificed his Son for you.

By now you might be saying to yourself, “But, pastor, you haven’t told me anything I didn’t already know and believe.” Exactly! Exactly! And the next time you’re wondering where God’s love for you is, I’m going to tell you the same thing. God’s love for you has always been and always will be in Christ.

Where is God’s love for you now? It’s always in Christ.

But we want to find it in our outward circumstance. We’re prone to think that when things are going well for us, God must love us. When we’re facing trouble, we question that same love for us. People of God, take your focus off your current circumstance, and focus your eyes of faith on the cross of Christ. If your God didn’t love you eternally in any and every situation, why would he have sacrificed his Son for you? The death and resurrection of Christ rescued you from hell. The death and resurrection of Christ guarantee your eternal life in the lap of God’s love. God’s love for you is always in Christ!

Part II.

Are you familiar with the meaning of the word “hyperbole”? It’s an exaggerated statement. Using hyperbole can be an effective way of communicating, since it draws attention to what the speaker is saying. But when hyperbole is overused, it tends to do the opposite. We’ve all heard speakers overuse words such “wonderful, amazing, magnificent.”

Some people might say that Paul uses a hyperbole in these words of our text. He wrote, “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” The word he used in the Greek is much more hyperbolic. He calls you “super-conqueror.” Super-conqueror? Really? Me? You?

That certainly doesn’t appear to be the case. We’re hurting right now. We can’t seem to conquer much of anything. In fact, you might say that right now we’re losing, not winning.

Paul doesn’t dismiss our troubles. In fact, he acknowledges them. He wrote, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” We’re not facing those same troubles, but we surely have our own. I’m sure you could make a list of your troubles every bit as serious as this one.

And there’s no end in sight. But that shouldn’t surprise us. Did you catch what Paul said? He quoted Psalm 44 by stating, “We face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” That’s pretty dark, isn’t it? But it’s real. Paul is acknowledging the truth that God’s people have always faced trouble in this life. We face it every day.

So where is God’s love now? In this astounding truth: We super-conquer our troubles. Listen to Paul’s victorious words, “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.” Nothing in the physical world can separate us from the love of God. Nothing in this world can claim us and derail our future with our God in heaven. Nothing!

Not even any power in the spiritual world. You know who’s behind all the troubles we’re facing, don’t you? It’s none other than Satan, and he wants to use every trouble we’re facing today to divide us and conquer us. So, how can we possibly face such a powerful enemy and win? In Christ. With the love of God in Christ. Satan is no match with Jesus on your side of the fight. Jesus wins. Every time. That means that even if things get worse in our world, you will still win. You’ll come out on top in Christ! That makes you a super-conqueror over your troubles.

So, let’s get out there with this message of victory! I’m not encouraging you to put on rose-colored glasses and ignore what you and the rest of the world are facing. Acknowledge it! But don’t let it beat you. It can’t beat you with Christ on your side. That’s your hope. That’s your confidence.

Do you know someone who could use that same hope and confidence? Then share it. Speak to them about the love of God in Christ, who suffered and died for them, and then rose again. And then share with them the truth that, with God’s love, we are super-conquerors over our troubles. So, go ahead. Do a little victory celebrating! And enjoy the love of God wrapped all around you! Amen.