Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?… For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It’s interesting that the very things that Paul cites as having no ability to separate us from the love of Christ are the very things that seem to threaten our ability to receive or experience His love. Think about all of the situations of life that you have experienced that caused you to question your faith; they caused you to question the character, nature, and person of God. When life was hard, when people we loved died, or when when we felt far from God, we begin to wonder if God’s love is for us at all.
Paul experienced all of these threats to the love of God in his life. In fact, at the time of Paul’s writing, he experienced all of the things he listed but death.* Death came to him eventually, however.
Maybe you haven’t experienced persecution, famine, danger, or violence directed toward you for your faith. Maybe you know someone who has. Maybe you know someone who has endured the difficulties of this life, and it didn’t end so well for them. In these moments, we wonder if the love of Christ is as permanent and eternal as we were told. Paul says that it is that permanent.
Though the difficulties of life are guaranteed, so is the love of God for those who believe.* We must be honest about both. We cannot deny the difficulties of life, but we cannot deny the truths of God’s Word.
There comes a point in the life of every believer where they must look at the things that they see in one hand, and they must look at the things that God says in the other. When those things do not align, humility calls us to lay down our limited perspective for the perspective of God.
Nothing can separate you from the love of God. No matter how hard life is or how hard life feels, His love remains. It’s true.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to recognize the difficulties of life. Perhaps God wants you to look honestly at those experiences and to hold tight to the truths of His Word. Maybe today God wants you to recognizes that His love never left you. Perhaps today God wants you to experience His love afresh right where you are at.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 341, 363–365). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 228–232). InterVarsity Press;
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 338–342). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (p. 283–289). Zondervan Publishing House.