Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 8:35,37 NRSV
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I remember when my girls were young. Of all the activities that we did, going to the mall was among the most nerve-wracking. I was constant afraid that in the big crowds I would be separated from them as they gleefully ran down the concourse trying to get away from me. While they were having a blast my anxiety was going through the roof. Being separated from them was what I feared the most. I would do anything to avoid it.
Separation, more specifically separation from Christ, is the topic of Paul’s writing to the Romans in chapter eight. Christians occupying the Roman world find themselves in constant anxiety over what would happen to them. If the Emperor loved them, they could live in peace. If he did not, they were persecuted and often killed. The idea of being separated, literally, from Christ and His love was a palpable and real thing. Lives were at stake. Paul reminds them though that despite difficulties nothing can separate them (or us) from the love of Christ and all that this means in and for our lives.
We all have separation anxiety at one level or another. We don’t like being separated from our loved ones or even from things that we love. The one thing that we cannot be separated from is Christ and His love for us. There is nothing that can take away that confidence. As Christians we need to live each day knowing we live in the richness of Christ’s love. This transforms how we live our lives. Take confidence and lives as “more than conquerers” today!
Romans 8:35,37 NRSV
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
I remember when my girls were young. Of all the activities that we did, going to the mall was among the most nerve-wracking. I was constant afraid that in the big crowds I would be separated from them as they gleefully ran down the concourse trying to get away from me. While they were having a blast my anxiety was going through the roof. Being separated from them was what I feared the most. I would do anything to avoid it.
Separation, more specifically separation from Christ, is the topic of Paul’s writing to the Romans in chapter eight. Christians occupying the Roman world find themselves in constant anxiety over what would happen to them. If the Emperor loved them, they could live in peace. If he did not, they were persecuted and often killed. The idea of being separated, literally, from Christ and His love was a palpable and real thing. Lives were at stake. Paul reminds them though that despite difficulties nothing can separate them (or us) from the love of Christ and all that this means in and for our lives.
We all have separation anxiety at one level or another. We don’t like being separated from our loved ones or even from things that we love. The one thing that we cannot be separated from is Christ and His love for us. There is nothing that can take away that confidence. As Christians we need to live each day knowing we live in the richness of Christ’s love. This transforms how we live our lives. Take confidence and lives as “more than conquerers” today!
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