Today seems to be a day for thinking about the difference between transitory things and eternal things.  In my devotions this morning I read a quote from Horace Bushnell:  “God is always letting things come into the world that He will not let stay in it.”  Then, during the sermon I was reminded of Romans 8:39 which tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

The world is temporary but God’s love is eternal.  Your job, your appearance, your relationships, your children, your parents, your age, your likes and dislikes.  All these things change.  In Romans 8, Paul makes a list of things that are temporary.  He includes persecution, trouble, hardship, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, death, life, angels, demons, present, future, any powers, height, depth, and anything in creation.  Quite an extensive list!

But none of these things can separate us from God’s love.  No matter how bad our lives get, God still loves us.  Amazing and wonderful!

Some people act like they are pretty big stuff.  They boast about how smart they are or how much power they have.  They forget that those things are temporary.  Someone who is all the rage today is forgotten tomorrow.  Even the strongest fortress falls over time.

We want to be sure we are trusting in our eternal God, not the temporary things, people, or events of this world.  God’s love is the only thing that endures.  Fortunately his love doesn’t depend on how we act or the temporary things we do.  Instead, he invites us to share eternity with him because of his great love.

We don’t deserve his love, but he gives it to us anyway.  And, unlike so much of human love, his love endures forever.  If we remain in him, no one and nothing can separate us.