Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Romans 8:35
We encountered many interesting aspects of Amish life when we visited Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, including a tour of some Amish farms. Our guide explained some of the more unusual aspects of life among the Pennsylvania Dutch, but one aspect struck me as being particularly unchristlike. That was the manner in which the Amish people shun family members who abandon the Amish way of life. Those who leave are treated as though they have no connection to their Amish roots. Their departure separates them from the love of their families and their home community. How different the relationship we have with our Lord, in which nothing that we or anyone else can do or be can separate us from the love of Christ!
Among the items listed as those that cannot separate us from the love of Christ are tribulation or distress or persecution. These are often the result of a Christian maintaining a good testimony amid the enemies of the cross. But these do not mean that we are ever abandoned by our Lord, rather they indicate that we enter into these things because we belong to Him. As the apostles of old, we ought to rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer shame for His name (Acts 5:41). Our text also notes that famine or nakedness do not separate us from the love of Christ. Poverty and hard times are often seen as a sign that God is not blessing us. In fact, in the Old Testament, God promised to send hard times to those who were disobedient. But God allows some of His children to suffer hunger and deprivation to bring them into circumstances that He can use for His glory and to teach his people precious lessons in faith and trust. In these circumstances, the love of Christ never fails. Nor does it fail should peril and physical harm occur, as our text notes. The sword that can separate the soul from the body can never separate the saint from his Saviour’s love.
Note that our text is speaking of the love of Christ to us, not of our love to Him. We must bow our heads in shame to acknowledge that our love to Him is not what it ought to be. We know and appreciate that He loved us and died to redeem us. We understand that He keeps us and regards us as His special treasure and His kingdom. We read of His eager anticipation of taking us to be with Him forever. And yet, we struggle and stumble and fail Him so many times. So our text today is a wonderful confirmation that our eternal association with His love is in His hands, not ours.
Our hearts respond in thankfulness and love to the love that binds us forever to all our Saviour’s preservation and promises. -Jim MacIntosh