MGOCSM Devotionals : God’s Triumphant Love -Romans 8: 31-39
God’s Triumphant Love
Romans 8: 31-39
St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans was the only epistle written to a church St. Paul had not yet visited. As St. Paul is preaching the gospel to the people in Rome through his epistle, he makes one of the most beautiful and profound statements ever made. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 8: 38-39). NOTHING can separate us from God’s love! We are His children, marked with the seal of Holy Baptism, and nothing can stop Him from loving us. However, we can separate ourselves from Him when we don’t truly pray, when we sin and don’t repent, and when we don’t make God a constant part of our lives. When we do all these things, we are separating ourselves from Him and the greatest gift of all, His love. God is a loving God and we see that throughout the Bible. Who else would sacrifice their own son for a world full of ungrateful, undeserving sinners?
Long before our parents conceived us, we were conceived in the mind of God. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I sanctified you,” (Jeremiah 1:5). God knew who our parents would be, when and where we would be born, our skin color, the number of hairs on our head, everything! We were all personally created by God to be in His likeness. Just imagine, God Almighty personally created each one of us and knew everything about us even before we were born! He wanted us to be here and although the world causes us to feel lonely and different, just remember, we mean everything to God! God created us so He could express His love to us. God’s love is the greatest gift we have and ever will receive. So how can we purposely want to separate ourselves from this love?
St. Paul also writes to the Romans that the only accurate way to understand ourselves is by knowing who God is and what He does for us. God is love and His love will triumph over anything Satan will try to use to keep us from God’s love. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). During this Lenten period, let’s truly try to recognize the unconditional love God has for us and prevent Satan from separating ourselves from it. God will NEVER stop loving us and there is nothing greater or stronger than His love.
Questions for Meditation:
1. What are the things in our lives we let separate ourselves from God and how can we overcome them?
2. Do I truly have a strong relationship with Christ? Does He know that I love Him and want Him in my life?