Of loneliness and unfailing love

Respite, refuge, and loneliness, all in one wooden bench. You sit down, take a deep breath, and contemplate life. And then you find the spiders... and slivers... and you realize that autumn may send away the crawlers, but not the thorns.

So refuge and respite have their limits, but loneliness... it hangs upon your shoulders, weighs upon your soul. And then the wind brushes your hair, the sun warms your cheeks, birds sing you songs, and you realize even then that you are loved.

As Paul wrote in Romans 8:37-39, "Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 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."

David captures this well in Psalm 36:5-7 — "Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings."

Paul made grasping and understanding this a great prayer in Ephesians 3:18-19: "May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."

Amen.