Day 34: God’s Love is Near

Romans 8:35–29

Nothing.
Nothing can undo it; no one can take it away; no
act can break it down.

Nothing.
Not my past, mistakes from yesterday, failure
still remembered, regret and sorrow.
My past cannot separate me from Jesus’ love.

Not my present morning threats, daily
disappointments, missed opportunities.
My present cannot separate me from Jesus’ love,

Not my future; no weakness; no helplessness;
no fading health.
My future cannot separate me from Jesus’ love.

Nothing inside—
Not arrogance and pride, not anxious
thoughts and fears, neither confusion nor
discouragement.

Nothing outside—
Neither enemies, nor persecutions, nor
economic decay.

Nothing could, nothing can, nothing will
separate me from Jesus’ love.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing can separate me from Jesus’ love.

Jesus’ love transforms threatened weaklings
into victors, failures and losses into triumphs,
fretful servants into more than conquerors,
weakness into perfected strength—all through
the love of Jesus.

Reflection Prayer

I praise You for giving us the love of Jesus Christ. I praise You that nothing can separate us from that love. I praise You that I need not fear those realities that cannot come between me and Your love. Now, Lord, please teach me to live that love with the people I meet here so that they can know this love that conquers all. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

---

Week 5: The Love of God

The Beatles famously said, “All you need is love.” The reality is that this statement is truer than most realize, but our understanding of love is limited—it is often dependent and conditional. That is not the love that people need; instead, we need true love.

God’s love displayed in Scripture and experienced in our lives goes beyond the love we know and experience on a daily basis. 1 John 4:16 says, “God is love.” Love is who He is; it is His character. He came to this earth to display this perfect love, to show Himself, and to provide an opportunity for all of us to experience what we long for—love.

Consider Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

“All we need is love,” and the good news is that love is given to us in Jesus Christ.

— Jim Sappia

---