No Separation

        Being separated from the protection that you need can cause some anxiety in your life. We grew up in Northern Indiana, which had it's share of tornadoes and other summer storms. My Father decided to take me along for a quick trip to Sears and Roebuck in town and was only going to be in the store for a few minutes. He decided to leave me in the car. While he was inside the store, a summer storm suddenly erupted with several large lightning bolts and some loud thunder. It cause me to scream violently in the car. It must have been a loud scream as a passing lady noticed my yelling at the top of my voice. She went into the store and gave my Father a piece of her mind in no uncertain terms. He almost immediately came back out and my peace and tranquility were restored as he continued to explain that he was only going to have been in the store for a short time. People must have a lot of anxiety these days as they have come up with a term in the last 40 years for food that if excessively fattening and rich. They call it “comfort food.” It may be just a half gallon of Rocky Road ice cream and a spoon or a special dish of macaroni and cheese but we like to eat it when we feel that our lives are particularly vulnerable. Romans 8:38-39 says, " For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

         This passage is our spiritual comfort food. For the most part, we don't want to be separated from the love of a very special person. In this case, it is the "love of God." Paul could have just said that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God, but no, he went on to include all of the specific areas that one might think could cause separation. Almost all of them are contrasted such as death and life, then angels and principalities, then things present and things to come. Then he includes powers and another pair, height and depth. Wanting to include everything, he finally mentions, "...nor any other creature." That even includes me and it includes you. This is especially for people who think that their actions might cause a rift so great between them and God that He will no longer love them anymore. Well, not even you nor I can do that. The list that Paul gives is including about everything that there is. Romans 8 begins with "no condemnation" and ends with this blessed assurance, that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, not even our own selves. That should arm us with the assurance that we need to go out into this day and to do battle with all of the forces that you encounter along the way. Praise God today for His "Keeping" power even amidst of the troubles that come your way. God is always good.