His Love Still Chases Me (Part 2 of I am a Fugitive)

I saw this message written in the sky one day
-a precious reminder of His love.

In I am a Fugitive, I felt so selfish talking about God's love for me, but I'm not about to stop! Now I'm going to try to flip your mindset upside down. I think it might be kind of fun. :)

Flipping my mindset upside down

I always feel that, in order to feel God's love, there must be nothing in the way. I must remove all impurities, all sins that are tainting my view -then, and only then, I can see it for what it is. This simply isn't true.

-Unconditional love

The fact is, God has always loved me first. He showed His love for me when Jesus, His only Son, died on the cross, and the punishment for my sin weighed heavily on Him. He showed it when Jesus asked the Father to forgive me for nailing Him there. "They don't know what they're doing," He says, because in reality, I had no idea that my sins were giving Him so much pain on that cross.

-I am the object of His love

I was yet His enemy, and He died for me.

Do you think this is proof enough that you and I are the objects of God's love? 

But there is more. Every day, He proves afresh that He loves me by giving me breath, giving me sunshine, letting me worship Him, teaching me truth. He says that His mercies are new to me every single morning. He doesn't push me away. Ever.

"Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love?" Paul asks in Romans 8. What do you think, Christian? My heart wasn't getting it when I read that the first time. "Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?" (v. 35)

Or what about when I wake up feeling like a monster and treat everybody thus? What then? Is His love suddenly unavailable to me?

-Are you convinced?

Paul takes it a step further in verses 38-39: "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love." 

Every time I read that phrase, the question echoed in my mind- "Are you convinced, Sandie?" 

Convinced? Well... I know He loves me. But am I convinced? 

"Neither death nor life," He continues on, "Nor angels nor demons..." What? Even if I gave myself to a demon? Even if I found myself under the enemy's rule? But there's even more... "Neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow," -now it gets more personal. "-not even the powers of @#!*% can separate us from God's love." Hell's greatest attempt to get me as far away from the love of God that it can possibly take me can't and won't succeed. 

"No power in the sky above or in the earth below -indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

He repeats this incredible little word, nothing, twice, as though I wouldn't get it if he said it just once. 

Nothing... That means my own mistake making, when I'm feeling farthest from God- yes, that moment- can't separate me from His love. That also means that all those times when I tell God "no" in response to His gentle leading can't separate me from His love. 

I feel like a miserable failure when I do these things, because I know God is holy... but I forget He also is every bit as much Love as He is holy. He's fully both. He is just as hateful towards the evil in the world as He is full of love towards the ones who do it. 

The fact is, He doesn't just choose to love me. He feels genuine love towards me, because He is Love itself. 

I'm Convinced by...?

If I'm convinced, that implies that someone has convinced me, but who? Well, the answer is very simple. God. He is the One who has been seeking to convince me my whole life that He loves me. And He's been seeking to convince every one of you, too. 

When I think of that, I look at my circumstances and say, "There's little to no proof, so how do I believe that?" 

Let's put it in a different light. What if like the fugitive I seem to think I am, I keep running and hiding in dark corners? His love is still chasing me down, not to punish me for my mistakes, but to gather me up in His arms, to hold me close to His heart. But the moment He shows up, I run and hide somewhere else.... And I keep running and hiding in the darkness where the enemy rules and reigns. Has his love ceased to pursue? No, for He's promised, "Surely [My] goodness and unfailing love will pursue [you] all the days of [your] life." (Psalm 23) 

He's pursuing me even now! Do I always feel it? No. Am I convinced? 

Let me tell you how to be convinced. There's a little secret I found out this past week while thinking lots on this topic. The secret is in a little, but very powerful action that you can do right now. No magnificent duty is required of you. Simply this: Trust Him.

"Um, Sandie," you say, "that's too simple." Let me put it another way... 

God's love is like the sunshine...

Does the sun ever stop shining? No. But if I hide in the shade all day, its rays will never touch my skin. And what about when storms come? Does the sun stop shining? No, and yet I don't feel the sun. Clouds and rain are blocking it from touching me. 

The fact is, the sun won't stop shining until God Himself takes it out of the sky and replaces it with His own eternal light. But I have no control over the weather that blocks my ability to feel the sunshine. 

So what do I do? "Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles." (Isaiah 40:31)

He comes to me in my dark corners, in my hiding places and in my storms, and He offers me wings.

I can't remove the storms, the darkness, or keep the failures from happening. I can't always live in the absence of turmoil. I can't keep things from going wrong. But what I can do is trust Him. And His promise is, He will give me wings to fly above the storm and into the sunshine of His love. 

...Are you with me? 

Let's say along with Paul, trusting even in our hiding place that it's true... "I am convinced. NOTHING can separate me from the love of my God!" Take His gift and come out into the sunshine, Christian! He loves me, and He loves you too!