The Inseparable Love of God (1) [ Romans 8:38-39 ] Why can nothing separate us from the love of God? 1. Because God’s love is eternal. Romans 8:29a says: “For those whom He foreknew…” The word “foreknew” refers to before eternity began —before the creation of heaven and earth . The phrase “those whom He foreknew” does not simply mean knowing about someone intellectually, but rather loving them. In other words, it refers to “those whom God loved from eternity past.” Amos 3:2a says: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” If “known” merely meant intellectual knowledge, that would imply that God only knew Israel and did not know the other nations—which cannot be true, because the all-knowing God lacks knowledge of nothing. Therefore, “I have known you only” means “I have loved you only.” God loved Israel among all the nations of the earth. Hosea 13:5 says: “I knew you in the wilderness , in the land of great drought.” The “wilderness” was where the Israelite...
A family meal where
hearts are shared
To celebrate my wife’s birthday
today, in the morning, my wife and I had a meal just the two of us, and in the
afternoon, after my wife finished work, the family gathered at a restaurant she
chose for a hearty meal. I’m grateful. Especially, it was nice to watch my wife have
various conversations with our son Dillon and his wife Jessica, including about
his proposal to Jessica. It was
heartwarming to see Dillon chatting with her, smiling brightly. Jessica, as expected, ate her favorite Korean food
Bossam with great enthusiasm. Haha. Our youngest daughter Karis seemed to have
only eaten ramen all day, but it was heartwarming to see her happily eating her
favorite seasoned egg. After the meal,
my wife wanted to have tea or something for dessert, so we went to the café we
often visit as a family. There, though
it wasn’t planned, I just opened my heart and shared my sincere feelings. And
that sincerity was ...
1. Your dad never had the chance to date and only
experienced unrequited love until I met your mom and got married. I knew so little about women, and because of
that, I had many regrets for the times I treated your mom poorly.
2. Also, after our first child, Charis, passed
away, my wife and I longed for a baby so much. When God gave us Dillon, we were so thankful,
but I had no idea how to raise children and became a father without knowing
much about parenting.
3. So, as I raised the three of you children, there
were so many things I did wrong. I’m
really sorry for that.
4. Mom and dad don’t focus on what we have or
haven’t done for you. When we talk about
you three, our focus is on how God is working in each of your lives.
5. Mom and dad can’t help but be thankful to God. The reason is that, even though we are
imperfect parents, God loves you more than anyone and is personally raising
you, and He has allowed us to catch a glimpse of that through faith.
I
shared my sincere feelings like, and during the process, I asked my children if
I was too strict when they were young, but they said I wasn’t. Haha. Also, there were several times when I
disciplined all three of them at once with a stick, and Dillon and Karis
remember those moments. What’s amazing,
though, is that both of them said I disciplined them with love, not in anger. But in reality, I feel like most of the time I
disciplined them out of anger. I’m not
sure. I apologized to my kids, thinking
I had made many mistakes in raising them.
But I realized they perceive things differently. It must be God’s grace.
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