No separation?

Last week I talked about the struggle we all seem to face with wanting to do what we know is right and yet we keep falling into old patterns, doing things we know are not good for us or that are outright wrong. The Apostle Paul in Romans said the solution is Jesus Christ; if we follow Jesus and ask him, he makes all things new and gives us a fresh start.

In the very next chapter of Romans, Paul goes on to talk about the fact that when we turn to Jesus and trust him to free us from this struggle, we are no longer condemned but accepted by God. We now have the freedom to live in harmony with God and one another, if we choose to let the Spirit of God begin to change us, day by day. Instead of being stuck in a place of isolation and separation from God because of the things we have done, the Spirit of God works in our hearts and minds to bring us into close relationship with God. He tells us, if we will listen, that we are God's children, that we have a place in his family, and he helps us day by day.

At the end of the chapter, Paul says something rather astonishing. He says that no one and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. That is a rather strong statement by itself, but he follows it up by describing some things that most of us would think were a sign that we are definitely separated from God:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 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 8:35−39

Wow, that's not how I naturally respond to problems. I know when I am going through a tough time, my first reaction is usually, oh no, what did I do wrong? Am I being punished for disobeying God? It feels like God has abandoned me; after all, if God loves me, why am I going through this?

The truth is, though, that problems, sickness, hardship, and suffering come into the lives of everyone. We live in a world that is broken, and as a result, bad things happen; it is not because God is mad or because he has sent them into our lives to teach us something. That is not what God is like at all. God has not abandoned us, no matter how it may feel at the time. Paul suffered all of the things that he listed there—trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, the sword—but he never believed it was because God did not love him or that God had left him alone. No, he knew what God is like, that God is good and loved him, so Paul had absolute confidence that nothing in heaven or earth could separate him from the love of God.

That is the kind of confidence God wants us to have in him. No matter what we may be tempted to feel like because of our circumstances, there really is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ. When our feelings say we are all alone, we can ask God to help us hang onto the truth that he loves us, and the Spirit of God will bring the comfort we need.

If you have not experienced the love of Christ, or if you are going through a difficult time, we would like to pray for you. Send us your prayer request at prayer@g3-rains.com or fill out the contact form on our Contact page. Your prayer request, as well as your comments, will be kept confidential, and you will not be added to any mailing lists.

January 20, 2008