May 7
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 8:35-39.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Christians are inseparably connected to Christ by faith in His love, which He revealed by sacrificing Himself to save us from sin, death, and the devil. Can anyone or anything break the bond by which we are bound to our Lord and Savior? Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword separate us from the love of Christ? Oh, there are many forces at work that seek to separate us from the love of Christ. The devil and the people of the world seek to persuade us that faith in Jesus as God’s Son and our Savior is useless and hopeless.
Paul points to the words of the psalmist, in which the Old Testament children of God complained about what many had to endure because their faith stood firmly on God’s gracious promises. The psalmist wrote, “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter,” Psalm 44:22.
However, Paul brushes all the difficulties, sufferings, and sorrow aside, which we must endure because of the faith that we have and profess. He writes, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!” We are more than conquerors; we more than come out on top! We are victors over all of our spiritual enemies, and that includes the devil and the non-Christians who try to make life miserable for us. Remember, “If sinners entice you, do not consent,” Proverbs 1:10. Do not give in to those who seek to lead you astray and away from your faith in Jesus. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith,” 1 Peter 5:8-9.
Paul concludes with the words, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The apostle was absolutely convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You might argue that it was easy for Paul to talk that way. God stopped him in his tracks on the road to Damascus, where he was going to arrest Christians, and God called him to be the great apostle. But can we speak with such conviction as Paul did? In what Paul said, there is one little word that is so important – the little word, “us!” Paul was not speaking just for himself. What he said, every child of God can say: “(Nothing) shall be able to separate US from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Not even death can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus; for the Christian, death is the door into the halls of heaven! May the Lord strengthen and increase our Christian conviction and hope in Christ Jesus, our Savior. Amen.
“I build on this foundation:
That Jesus and His blood
Alone are my salvation;
The true, eternal good.
Without Him, all that pleases
Is valueless on earth;
The gifts I owe to Jesus
Alone my love are worth.” Amen.