So if the goodness of God would ever be manifested to us, it would be supremely good that nobody on earth would've ever considered it first; for the love of God is heavenly, beyond human thought; we wouldn't be able to conjure up the thought of it, for it wouldn't be of us. I know the things which are from me: they are sinful, they are no good; I am ashamed of them. If God would reveal His love to us, I would know it is not from mankind, for it would be good; and I know goodness does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The love of God is above, but I am below. I know what is in man, for I am a man; I see the world and what is in it, and I am a man of this world. But God's love is not earthly, it's heavenly; the love that we know says, "You love me, so I love you; if you hate me, then I hate you." But the love from above is above all, beyond human thought, beyond human morals, beyond human imagination. For our mind is sinful, how can we think of anything good? The depths of our heart utter the depths of hell; but the Word of God speaks of God's thoughts; as He says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9) So my earthly love says, "My enemy is my enemy, why should I love him?" But the love of God says, “They repay me evil for good, To the bereavement of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, And my prayer kept returning to my bosom. I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother. And this was written by David, a man after God's own heart. The love I first have is toward myself, for I love myself and care for myself. Who do I love more than myself? But the love of God says, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" (2 Samuel 18:33) For the love of God in Jesus Christ died instead of you. Furthermore in my earthly love, I may give a gift to a man, but only if he is family; to a stranger, how much of myself will I spend for him? But the love of God gave the gift of life, even eternal life, which cannot be measured nor counted. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” (John 3:16) For Christ Jesus died, giving up His whole self; He did not give up only a little bit of Himself, but His whole soul; as it says, "To the bereavement of My soul." (Psalms 35:11) And was it for the friends of God? No, but while we were enemies of God in thought and in deed; for Jesus died even for His enemies: to reconcile us to God. Jesus Christ first loved us even to death, even death on a cross. If this is the love He shows to His enemies, what kind of love do you suppose He would show His friends who obey Him? We were once separate from the commonwealth of Israel; and us Gentiles were like creatures in the depths of the ocean to God; creatures in which men look at and say, "What is it?" Yet God loved the strange thing and brought it near unto Himself; “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household.” (Ephesians 2:19)
Furthermore, the love of men is written about: “The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.” (Lamentations 4:10) But the love of Christ says, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And the love of man says, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?" (Matthew 19:3) But the love of God says, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes." (Hosea 3:1) And the love of man says, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!" (Isaiah 65:5) But the love of Christ says, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL." (Hebrews 10:9) And He came down from heaven. And the love of man says, "Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight." So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.” (Genesis 16:6) But the love of God says, “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.” (John 13:14) And the love of the LORD God says, "Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15) And then it says, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU." (Hebrews 13:5) Furthermore, the love of man is written about: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) For the love of man first hates his father and his mother to be joined to his wife. But the love of Christ says, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” So in view of His love, man hates even his wife, and yes, his own soul, for the sake of Christ. For "The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Corinthians 6:17) For when the love of God in Christ Jesus is measured up against our own love: how cannot our natural love look like hatred in His sight? “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.” (Psalms 103:11) For "His lovingkindness is everlasting." (Psalm 136) For the love of God is not from earth; it is beyond the heavens. And so, “We love, because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) And this is His heavenly love towards those who fear Him. And “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.” (1 John 3:14) “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed.” (1 Corinthians 16:22) "For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it; If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised." (Song of Solomon 8:6-7)
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)
For Christ Jesus died and even in His death, He worked good for us; so death cannot separate us from the love of Him;
And He was raised to new life and has gone away to the Father, yet He intercedes on our behalf; so life cannot separate us from the love of Him;
And messengers may testify against the love of Christ, but His work on the cross speaks more about love than their many words; so they cannot separate us from the love of Him;
And principalities are first on earth, but Christ is the Beginning and the Head of the heavens and the earth; so they cannot separate us from the love of Him;
And the things present are presently passing away, and the things to come are yet to be, but He was, is now, and is to come; so the things present nor the things to come can ever separate us from the love of Him;
And our enemies may be powerful, but even God's weakness is stronger than the strength of men; so powers cannot separate us from the love of Him;
And the height of mountains may tower over us, but through faith in His name, we may say, "Be uprooted and be planted in the sea." (Luke 17:6) So heights cannot separate us from the love of God;
And we may sink to the depths of Sheol, to the roots of the mountains, but, as it is written: “I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.” (Jonah 2:2) So depth cannot separate us from the love of God;
And all things created, He made beautiful, but much more beautiful and majestic is He who creates all; if He creates these things, and they are glorious and beautiful before our eyes, and not even all the scholars of the world can wrap their minds around them, and yet He destroys them as if they were nothing, He wraps them up like a garment and changes them out; how much greater then are the things to come, things that replace these, things which He has for us, things prepared for us who love God, things which are forever?
Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!