Nothing - 21 April 2008

"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 37-39 NIV

Romans 8 is one of my favourite chapters, it holds so much encouragement and hope for the believer and perhaps because it was designed to speak to gentiles rather than the Jewish community it rings more of a bell with modern christians. But it is the last two verses that really pack a punch for me. Read it for yourself to see how Paul works up to this amazing statement that ‘Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus’

It seems that sometimes as Christians we can suffer from a kind of separation anxiety. We may think that is possible for us, by our own actions, to walk away from God, so we stick to a rather safe but narrow lifestyle where we are always close to something which reminds us that we are Christians and still belong to God.

Life can be uncertain and some bad things can happen as a consequence of just living Paul was a man whose faith led him into persecution, need, imprisonment, shipwreck and mob violence against him just because he preached the gospel. And yet he says, presumably from his own experience:

‘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.’ vv 35 and 37

We might consider that these things are possibly the worst things that can ever happen to us, but Paul is certain: nothing that can physically happen to us can separate us from God.

So what would your list of trials and tribulations consist of? Perhaps it might go something like this:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall illness or redundancy or bankruptcy or legal action or burglary or rape or addiction or bereavement or divorce? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

What are the bad things which have happened to you? Look at them in the light of this passage, realise that God was with you throughout and pray into that.

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:38 NIV