Who Will Separate Us From God's Love?

Changed Circumstances Do Not Affect God's Love

Our life in this system of things is subject to many changes. King Solomon observed that "time and unforeseen occurrence befall us all." (Ecclesiastes 9:11) Overnight our life may change completely. One day we are healthy, the next day we may be seriously ill. One day our secular job seems stable, the next day we are unemployed. Without warning, death can strike a loved one. Christians in a certain land may enjoy peaceful conditions for some time, and then, suddenly, violent persecution erupts. Perhaps we are falsely accused, and because of this, we suffer some injustice. Yes, life is not stable or completely certain. -James 413-15.

When saddening things happen to us, we could begin to feel abandoned, even imagining that God's love for us has waned. Since we are all subject to such happenings , we do well to consider carefully the very consoling words of the apostle Paul recorded in Romans chapter 89. Those words were addressed to spirit-anointed Christians. Yet, in principle they also apply to those of the other sheep, who have been declared righteous as God's friends, as was Abraham in pre-Christian times. -Romans 4:20-22; James 2:21-23.

Read Romans 8:31-34. Paul asks: "If God is not for us, who will be against us?" True, Satan and his wicked world are against us. Enemies may falsely accuse us, even in the courts of the land. Some Christian parents have been accused of hating their children because of not allowing them to accept medical procedures that violate God's law or not letting them engage in pagan celebrations. (Acts 15:28, 29; 2 Corinthians 6:14-16) Other faithful Christians have been falsely charged with being seditious because they would not kill fellow humans in warfare or engage in politics. (John 17:16) Some opposers have spread slanderous lies in the media, even falsely accusing Jehovah's Witnesses of being a dangerous cult.

Next time: Continue with the above subject

Watchtower, 2001