The power of love is the will of God.

Romans 9:16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. What is the “it” that Paul has in mind in this verse? Paul has been working out that the word of God has not failed to Israel because the Israel God has in mind with regard to His promise of salvation isn’t limited to descendants of Abraham. So we might say it this way: “So then, being a child of God doesn’t depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.” Paul had hinted at this great truth in Rom. 9:11. “For though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, ‘The older will serve the younger.’” The apostle John, in John 1:11-13, clearly stated that the foundation of our salvation is God’s choice and not ours. “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” Ultimately, the confidence of Israel, the children of God, is that He has chosen to love them because of His eternal purpose to glorify His Son in them by conforming them to the image of His Son as stated in Rom. 8:29. The wonderful encouragement we can embrace in this passage is that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus because His affection toward us is dependent solely on the sustained direction of His will toward our highest good. If God has not spared His Son, but delivered Him up for us, will He ever let His love fail toward us? Absolutely not! We are loved because God is love and He has chosen to love us, not based on anything in us, but entirely on His love for us in His Son, Jesus Christ. There lies the basis of our love for others as we live to love with Jesus. We who are His children, have the life of the Son of God dwelling in us. He chooses to love all whom He puts in our paths each day, and we have the privilege and honor to bring Him glory by loving with Him. To God be the glory as we love—forgive, pray, serve, forbear, and encourage—the members of Jesus’ body today. When we love even the least of the members of His body, we are loving Him. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com