Absolutely nothing!

This evening I had an awesome encounter on my way home from work. Walking through Peckham Square, I saw a guy that we see quite often with Street Pastors. He was sitting on his own so I went and joined him. He was feeling down, thinking that because of certain situations in his life, things he had done, he had blown his chances with God. What an honour it was to share with him the amazing truth that however far he felt he'd strayed from God, at no point during that time had God left him. I was able to share with him some verses from Romans that had been on my mind a lot recently:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

This guy was blown away when he realised that; and it made me so excited as I watched him light up. That is what my life is about, and it was good to be reminded and given fresh encouragement of the passion that I have to see these lives changed in such a dramatic way.

But aside from that, as I carried on walking home, it struck me that so often I didn't remember that basic truth that is the basis of our faith. How often I too think that I've blown it when I mess up - that this time is the last straw. It's been refreshing for me to ponder those words afresh.

I'm reading Philip Yancey's "What's so Amazing About Grace" at the moment - I've read it before but I sensed I needed to remind myself of some of the basic truths that I so often forget. In it, Yancey writes:

"I grew up with the image of a mathematical God who weighed my good and bad deeds on a set of scales and always found me wanting. Somehow I missed the God of the Gospels, a God of mercy and generosity who keeps finding ways to shatter the relentless laws of ungrace...Grace makes its appearance in so many forms that I have trouble defining it. I am ready, though, to attept something life a definition of grace in relation to God. Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more - no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciations, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries and divinity schools, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes. And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less - no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder. Grace means that God loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love."

How we need to be reminded of that. That said, it's not something to be taken lightly - it's not a get out of jail pass that means we can do what we want...because actions still have consequences! But one thing that will never change is the love that God has for you and for me.