Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (Rom. 8:35)
YOU DON’T WANT to get stuck to something with superglue. It’s almost impossible to pull apart objects joined by superglue without damaging one or both objects. If the skin on your finger becomes attached to the skin on another part of your body or to another object, you may suffer some tearing of the skin in order to separate the two.
God’s intention for us is that we should never be separated from Him, once we have made a commitment to Him through Christ. He intends that our union remain permanent.
Paul mentioned some things that might threaten to separate us. Trouble comes to all of us. Hardship may follow. Many believers in our world are persecuted. Some are left homeless and in need of clothing. Others may face danger from the sword (or from an automatic weapon, threatened beheading, or a suicide vest).
However, no one can separate us from Christ against our will. Believers in some places have suffered unbelievable torture and deprivation. But because they love Christ, they refuse to budge from their commitment to Him.
In the second century, Polycarp of Smyrna faced incredible pressure to deny Christ and save himself. He said, “Eighty and six years have I served him, and he has never done me injury; how then can I now blaspheme my King and Savior?”
God’s grace is sufficient to keep us in the love of Christ.
Determine now that you will never deny Him. By His grace, you will remain attached.
Ron McClung, who works at his denomination’s world headquarters, lives in Fishers, Indiana, with his wife, Carol. They have two sons, nine grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters.
