The Love of Christ
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35
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39, NRSV
This passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans is one that I go back to over and over again. It’s one of my favorites. In this letter, Paul is writing to the people in Rome because there may have been some tension between the Gentile Christians and the Jewish Christians. In the letter to the Romans, he writes about theology, including the relationship of the people with God. For me, this passage, from the end of Chapter 8, offers reassurance and hope, even in those most uncertain times.
When we go through times of stress, when our life is unsure, unpredictable and uncertain, turning to passages of Scripture for reassurance is a good thing. To be sure, there are a number of passages from the Bible that cause us to have more questions and confusion than answers and clarity. There is a time for those passages, for all Scripture, to be studied and reflected upon. Yet, there is also a time for turning to God’s Word for comfort
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for a reminder that we are loved by God and that there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God through Jesus Christ.
A prayer for those we love that they may know God’s love:
Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to thy never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer
, page 831
The Rev. Lisa R. Neilson
Associate for Pastoral Care and Women's Ministries
