"The Love of God... in Christ Jesus."

"I ask for the grace to pray and meditate faithfully.  I ask for patience, tolerance, gentleness, empathy, and compassion.  I ask to abstain from anger, anxiety, arrogance, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, and self-importance.  I ask to know and follow Jesus more closely, seeking justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly."


Romans 8:31-39
31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³²He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? ³³Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.^{* 35}Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all day long;
   we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’
³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor 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.


1) "...God is for us;" "...who is against us?" "...give us everything else;" "...who indeed intercedes for us;" "...Who will separate us from the love of Christ?" "...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."


2) I love that last line.  But are we convinced?  "We are more than conquerors."  Who are the conquerors that we are more than?  I feel this has often been read that "we Christians" are better conquerors than any other conquerors.  But actually, here, it means we are more than whatever would conquer us.  And it is a comprehensive list of things that might conquer us!  It is a beautifully convincing argument, Is God for us or against us?  Given the history recorded in the scriptures, and human inclination to reflect what is worse rather than what is best in the world, its a good question.  But our faith story affirms that if we choose to follow the way of justice, kindness, and humility, then God's love is inseparable from us.  And we will receive whatever we need to do what we need to do. 


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To sit with the love of God, knowing it to be inseparable.


"Holy One, help us to trust 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 your love in Christ Jesus.  And let us act so in the world as we seek to reveal that love."


Breathprayer: "The love of God... in Christ Jesus."