26 October | EVERYONE
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? […] Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8: 35,37
The early years of the Christian church were years of persecution and death. However, the blood of believers was like water that watered the seed of the gospel so that it would germinate, bear fruit, and spread throughout the known world of that time. The apostle Paul himself, before his conversion, had been one of the persecutors. In the years that followed, the leaders of the Roman Empire would have Christians devoured by wild beasts in circuses or burned like human torches.
In the face of the difficulties that lay ahead, the Apostle Paul asks himself in today's text whether there is anything that can separate us from the love of Christ. That is the wonderful reality for those who desire to be faithful to Jesus. Many factors can undermine your faith, but we are assured that it should not be so, for none of them will stop God from loving us. Even more, they will not separate us from His love, which means we can continue to experience it.
We no longer live in biblical times, but the promise is still the same today. We do not face dangers of the sword; we do not get taken to a coliseum to be devoured by hungry beasts while the audience applauds. However, we can be ridiculed because of our faith. The doors of jobs may be closed to us. Classmates at the university may look at us with a mocking smile. Many proclaim that everyone has the right to think and say what they want, but if you talk about the gospel, you may not be an "evolved" person.
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Paul challenges you to be faithful to Jesus, not to be separated from Him, for you are already a conqueror through the One who loved you from eternity. With His unconditional love at your disposal, your back is well covered. Will you still be afraid? Sing "Who Shall Separate Us?" (if possible, with your family).