Have you ever noticed how sometimes words of comfort come
across empty? I only have to consider my
own responses to those who had experienced losing a loved one. Before I lost my sister and dad my responses
were more rehearsed than felt. It wasn’t
that I was cold hearted but rather heart
protected. I had never experienced
that sadness before so I couldn’t really understand the depth of pain in which
they were living. Once I had experienced
that suffering I truly understood the journey of hope… desperate prayer…decline…and ultimately death. On the flipside however I experienced the
healing of that journey. Through the
love of Christ I was able to accept…seek
comfort…pray for our emotional healing…and receive the sustaining grace and love
of God.
Paul penned this passage with authority and credibility, for
the things he named were the things he had endured through God’s grace in
Christ. Paul’s words do not fall on deft
ears for they were written from a man who walked this journey and overcame all
of these sufferings.
The love of Christ involves His protection when we are
vulnerable and weak from our circumstances.
The love of Christ offers His comfort and peace when we are fearful and
anxious in our situation. The love of Christ
bestows those special blessings on the days we need something extra. His love reveals His heart when we cannot
trace His hand in our suffering. When we
glance in our rearview mirror we can see how victoriously we were led out of
other painful times. In retrospect, we
see how the love of Christ was there at every turn never leaving us, but always
loving us. When we can look at our past
as overcomers our lives will pen our story through our testimonies. In the spirit of Paul’s writings, I write my
own as a testimony to God:
‘What shall separate me from Christ’s love? Shall divorce, my child’s heroin addiction,
secret spending, cancer, death and grief…No,
in all these things I am more than a conqueror through him who loves me. For I am convinced that nothing yesterday,
today or tomorrow will be able to pry me from God’s hand since I am a co-heir
with Christ.’
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