Put Me Down For Half

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39

The message from Adrian Rogers this morning asked, "Wholehearted or halfhearted?" My apologies to all those church cheerleaders this morning, but put me down for half. While my heart is in the Lord's keeping and wholly devoted to Him, on those days when I wake up with a sinus headache and other associated complaints sometimes known as the 24-hour virus or the creeping crud or other clever nicknames, my heart just isn't up to encouraging others to shout out their praises to the Lord.

In thinking of those who believe in Jesus, but also have a chronic condition that is hidden, you know the ones where everyone sums up their symptoms with, "You look fine!", one cannot help but wonder if God's love every leaves them even for just a moment. Did they get left out when the Christian blessings were handed around? Like Job's friends are we tempted to tell them, "Just confess what you did wrong, and God will let up on you."

Good news for us in this, whether our suffering is short term or lifelong, Paul reminds us that God's love does not go away, not even for a moment. Any other created thing, as Paul concludes his list, since God created all things, leaves no room for some thing to show up and separate us from God's love. I am glad that whether I feel fully and wholly up to praising the Lord, or when I feel only halfway up for it, neither circumstance separates me from God's love. I am a created thing too, and neither myself nor my weakness can separate me from God's love.

God's love to you on this day,
Bucky