(Read Romans 8)
Days before Christmas in 1995, Sharletta Evans was in the wrong place at the wrong time while passing by an apartment complex in the middle of a gang drive-by. Bullets were flying. One of the gang members, 15-year-old Raymond Johnson, fired his weapon, putting 21 bullets into Evans’ vehicle and one in her 3-year-old son Casson. Johnson was found guilty and received a life sentence without parole. Sharletta Evans forgave Casson’s killer and now treats him as her own child. She believes sharing her story is essential so that others can get a sense of healing that only forgiveness can bring.
Johnson later said in an interview, “God brings people into your life that will help you with the things that you need, and the things that Sharletta gives me, my mother couldn’t give me.”
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
From our limited lens, we see many things as inseparable. Anything affixed with super glue, Lennon and McCartney, Mario and Luigi, even conjoined twins, we might think are inseparable. Everything that is inseparable in life here on earth will eventually be separated — this existence is temporary. What Paul wrote in Romans tells us just the opposite is true when it comes to God’s love through Jesus Christ. He’s encouraging us to be secure about God’s love. Nothing we have done, have thought, or will do, prevents God from loving us.
I have read this passage in Romans at least twenty times, and this one little nugget of wisdom shouted to me the other day. It just shows you that re-reading the Bible will reveal new affirmations from God every time!
“Nothing in all creation” has the power to separate us. Paul’s list of present and future things was familiar to me, but this time reading the passage, I realized he was also talking about created things — people and people-created events. People can say things, do things, and control things in our life; even still, no accusation or attack against us will stand. God has justified us through Jesus, who intercedes on our behalf. Just think about this, God’s full commitment to love us will remain for a second, an hour, a day, a year, or a million years. This Scripture is one of the most comforting passages of God’s word ever recorded. Why? Because God is in charge of angels, demons, hell, life, and death. So if God tells us that He will not let any of them separate us from His love, where is the need for fear? Being a believer of His Son has given us this privilege.
The point of this part of Romans is about security. God wants us to have profound and unmovable confidence that we will always be secure in His love. He wants us to see the clearest picture of grace imaginable. If we can’t be separated from the love of Christ, is there anything anywhere to fear? Once we are in His family, as believers, can anything separate us from that love?
I had a warm, heartfelt, long-overdue conversation with my sister today. There have been misunderstandings and tension between us for almost five years. Some things happened after our mom passed away, and we saw things differently. I reacted, she reacted, and then things were buried for the next few years. I’ve been meaning to talk with her about it for quite some time, but it has been challenging since we live four states apart. While I thought she was looking at my actions in a harsh light, she explained that her feelings were more out of sadness. Eyeopener! The chat didn’t last too long, but it ended well. We both echoed our love for each other and said our goodbyes. What I saw was the enduring love of family rise above disagreements and trials. I saw Christ rip off the veil of an argument that clouded our relationship, exposing the brightest, most beautiful eternal love imaginable—his love for us.
Who I am has nothing to do with my circumstances or successes. It’s a gift of God’s grace. I didn’t earn my identity, and I can do nothing to lose it. As Paul Tripp said, “Grace gives us the faith to be utterly assured of what we cannot see. It connects us to the invisible One in an eternal love relationship that fills us with joy we have never known before and gives us rest of heart that we would have thought impossible. And that grace is still rescuing us because we still tend to forget what is important, real, and true. We still fail to remember in given moments that we really do have a heavenly Father. Grace has done a wonderful thing for us and continues to do more and more.”
So when I am being dishonest or withholding something out of fear, rejection, or punishment, I forget that God has already covered me with His grace — always. When Jesus was put on the cross, He secured us in death and life, and neither can undo the victory he achieved in His resurrection.
In that interview, the gang member Raymond Johnson said, “I believe Casson sacrificed his life to save my life because I was so consumed with the world that I didn’t know where I was going.” He has come to understand many things through his punishment and reflection. Unbelievably, he is loved by the mother and family of the toddler he shot, and miraculously, he is loved by a forgiving Savior who paid for his life by giving up His own.
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
John 10:28-30
Key Applications:
- Does the cross serve as a powerful focal point in your life? Do you ever feel that your sin or suffering has separated you from the love of God? Let it go and thank Jesus Christ.
- Do you know who needs to hear the truths from Romans 8:18-39? You can do something about it. Share it and serve Jesus.
Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.