“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 8:38-39, NRSV
All week long, our daily devotionals have been inspired by answers to one simple question: “What do you remember learning in Sunday School?” It’s the question I’ve asked friends and family, classmates and colleagues. One friend and retired colleague responded: “I learned ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’”
It does, by the way. The Bible does tell us so. I even went to seminary just to make sure. But don’t take my word for it — read it for yourself:
“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 8:38-39, NRSV).
In fact, this passage takes that old Sunday School song and goes one further. It not only tells us that Jesus loves us; it also tells us just how powerful that love is. Here in this ancient letter, the apostle Paul considers every power, every force of his world… and maintains that none of it has the power to come between humanity and the love of God. Nothing… nothing in heaven or earth, nothing that is known or can possibly be known, nothing is powerful enough to separate us from the unfailing love of God that is in Christ Jesus.
That’s nothing new, of course. It’s been written here in Romans for the better part of two thousand years. Yet I find I need to hear it anew in this season of covid-tide. In fact, I need to hear it say: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor viral upticks, not economic downturns, nor the struggles we’ve faced in covid-tide, nor the struggles we’ve yet to face in covid-tide, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor distance, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul, I expect, will forgive my little scriptural addendum — especially since it doesn’t change the meaning of his words one bit.
Maybe you need to hear that reminder too, friends. So in the face of covid-tide, sing a little “Jesus Loves Me.”
Read some Romans.
Remind yourself of how much Jesus loves you… and remind yourself of the surpassing power of that love.
Blessings,
Pastor Candy
Get into the Sunday School spirit by joining us for our “Rally in the Gallery” — a virtual Rally Day pancake breakfast — on Saturday October 17 at 10:00 AM.. It’ll be a great way to connect with your church family!
RSVP here: https://forms.gle/gTbiVqtmfj2FJs7o7
And remind yourself of this truth, too:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
Want to know more?
- Learn about our church and its ministries: https://wesleychurch.com/
- Make a gift to support our mission: https://wesleychurch.com/giving-2/
- View our recent messages: https://wesleychurch.com/sermon-message-on-video/
- View previous devotionals: https://wesleychurch.com/pastor-candys-devotionals-2/
