Reflection on Rom 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
When doubts come upon us or when we fall into sin, yet we do not abide in it but repent, the Word of God applies to us: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” None of this can separate us from the love of God. Neither evil angels, nor all hell with demons, nor various occult energies, nor deceitful people serving the devil. The only thing that can separate us is our pride and our unbelief which we align ourselves with and obey. If, however, we convict pride with the truth, even these temptations and trials finally strengthen us in Christ and the truth. Then it is true: If we are in Christ through repentance, nothing shall separate us from His love.
Reading the lives of saints and martyrs, we wonder how they could suffer such terrible torment. God often worked extraordinary miracles, and then many people were converted and believed. But this was only a sign that if God is for us, who can be against us, and that nothing, not even the cruellest persecution, can separate us from the love of Christ. In suffering, we need to be united to Jesus and remember the truth we often forget about. Jesus Himself tells us this truth: “I am with you all the days of your life.” (Mt 28:20) He is with us, and we usually do not know it or are not mindful of it at all. We live as if He were not with us. We do not turn to Him, we do not give Him our problems and pains, and we rely only on ourselves and our human effort, and that is a fundamental problem. We must rely on Jesus! This does not mean that we will do nothing; we have to do our best, we have to suffer, but not alone. We must do so with Jesus, and He will then solve our problems.
In the lives of the holy martyrs, we marvel at the great trust and the closeness of Jesus they were filled with, so that many of these martyrs suffered even the greatest torment with joy, as if they did not feel any. Some of them testified, “It’s Jesus who gives me the strength!” They are our greatest example in this historical time in which God has placed even you. Your task is to save your soul and help save the souls of those for whom you are responsible. And to do that, you need to have a personal relationship with Jesus. How will you attain it? You need to find time, as He Himself says, “Could you not watch with Me one hour (and let us add – daily)?” If we are with Him in prayer, He will be with us at various times, day and night. He will give us light and strength and we will have personal experience with His help. Then neither persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor peril, nor sword shall separate us from Him!
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