Separated...

“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.” Romans 8:38-39


“From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land…the earth shook and the rocks split…” Matthew 27:45
 
Christ's deep agony on the cross was not from the physical pain or the rejection by man. The deep agony was from the separation that occurred when the wrath of the Father was poured out upon the Son…His Beloved.


I doubt that any of us can understand the depth of the love that binds the Triune nature of God together. It is a “oneness” that goes way beyond that which He designed for a man and a woman. Even though God planned for us to participate in, and experience, the “profound mystery” as Paul describes it, it is, no doubt, but a speck in comparison to the love and the union of the Father and the Son.

Jesus said they were “one”.


…and they had been for all eternity…and they will be for all eternity.

But on the cross, Jesus was separated from the Father when He bore the penalty for our sins...the eternal separation from God. That was the price and Jesus paid it.

And He cried out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”


Many have said that Jesus died from a broken heart. I don’t know whether or not this is true. But die He did…for the penalty of sin includes death. His blood was shed…for there is no remission of sin without it.

But His real cry of agony on the cross came from being separated from the One He loved.

We experience that, too, when we are long separated from those we love. But this is nothing compared to the magnitude of the separation that Jesus bore for us.

But why did He?

Because He loves you…really loves YOU.

And that deep, deep love meant paying the penalty on our behalf so that there might never...EVER be a separation between the Lover and the loved...the Groom and His bride...the Shepherd and His sheep.


Who can fathom the depth of this? Paul was given the words to help us grasp it:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” He then lists the possibilities and the answer to each is understood:


Trouble? No...

Hardship? No...

Persecution? No...

Famine? No...

Nakedness? No...

Danger? No...

Sword? No...

Death? No...

Life? No...

Angels? No...

Demons? No...

The present? No...

The future? No...

Any powers? No...

Height? No...

Depth? No...

Anything else in ALL of creation? No...

Have we gotten the point yet? In case not, he sums it up this way:

“NOTHING will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

...I guess that means NOTHING...

Remember...when you feel that you're at the end of your rope...that no one cares...that you've been beaten and left for dead...that everything you've done has come to naught...that no one loves you...He does.
 
In the presence of something so awesome, my weak little “thanks” seems somewhat inadequate.


~ V