Nothing Can Separate

Reflection

Paul reaches the end of his great argument in Romans 8 and breaks into something close to a song. He piles up every force he can think of that might threaten to cut us off from God — death, life, angels, rulers, things present, things to come, powers, height, depth — and declares that not one of them, "nor anything else in all creation," can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This is breathtaking in its reach. Paul does not say a few manageable threats cannot separate us. He empties the universe of possibilities and finds nothing with the power to break God's hold on his people. Death cannot do it — the ultimate terror is disarmed. Life cannot do it — not even our own failures and wanderings, which fall under "things present" and "things to come." We often assume God's love is conditional, likely to run out if we test it too far. We fear that some future sin, some depth of despair, some unimaginable circumstance might finally place us beyond its reach. Paul's list is designed precisely to answer that fear. He has thought of your worst-case scenario, and it is on the list of things that cannot separate you. The love that holds you is anchored not in your grip on God but in his grip on you, secured by the death and resurrection of Christ. It is the most stable thing in existence. Whatever today brings, you are held by a love that nothing in all creation can break.