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I Am Not Sufficient


I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30)
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  (Romans 8:35)
This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.” (John 18:9)
          Years ago, my response to Romans 8:35 was “Trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword can’t separate me from God’s love … but I can. I mean, if you knew how pathetic I am….  That was my thinking. Of course, that wasn’t clear thinking on my part. One of Jesus’ disciples denied Jesus three times after trying to hack a guy’s head off to protect Jesus. Two others wanted to pull a Sodom-and-Gomorrah-style judgment on a couple of towns that weren’t receptive of their message. A third was a tax collector, and we all know what they’re like. They were jealous of one another, judgmental, egotistical, and argumentative. I’m not saying I’m better than they were. I’m saying that I can’t compete with them. And yet, Jesus said He had not lost one of those that God gave Him. 
          Jesus said that no one will snatch those He has given eternal life out of His hand. No. One. Am I no one? I might be willing to claim to be a nobody, but am I no one? Really?
          I know people who believe that salvation can be lost or rejected after it’s granted, and I’m sure they have Scripture to back up their claims, but looking at these verses today, I once again have to conclude that I am not sufficient to undo what God hath wrought.

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