His Love is Greater than Death

It doesn’t matter what life throws your way, God is always looking out for us. At difficult times in our life, it may not be noticeable that God is watching over us, but indeed He is. Most often we realize this through the rearview mirror of life, when we realize that God had never left our side, even when we thought we were alone. Right about now, almost half-way through Great Lent, you might be wondering where God is, in all this Lenten temptation.

I say temptation, because when we are actively engaged in any spiritual struggle, the devil can’t help himself but to attempt to derail our progress, and Great Lent is most definitely filled with struggle and temptation. We are tempted, on a good day to break the fast, and on a more strenuous day, to break the commandments to love each other as God expects. We just need to push forward, and trust that the process of Great Lent will indeed bring us closer to God and bring about His will for us. Take a moment and read today’s reading in Genesis found below.

Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark, to escape the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. – Genesis 7.6-9

In just a few verses, if we have the heart to understand, God reveals that He never abandons His creation. Knowing that He would eventually enter into His creation as our Lord Jesus Christ, He did not allow evil to totally consume it. He allowed the flood instead to defeat evil. Yes, many died, but their death is only temporary. Yes, they suffered, but their suffering brought about a greater blessing, namely that evil would not prevail. Even the animals were taken into consideration and protected.

As we approach the Sunday of the Cross, the half-way point of Great Lent, we are blessed with the constant reminder that God’s plan, though not what we would expect, is already being accomplished and has already been accomplished, as far as it is in our power. Just as we are wondering if the struggles and temptations of Great Lent are worth anything, we see the Cross and realize that God’s love is greater than our pain. His love is greater than our temporary discomfort in not being able to eat our favorite foods. His love is greater than death.