“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)
What I love about Paul, the letter writer, is the moment he falls into his mystical heart and comes out with a staggering truth that opens my own heart in a way that everything changes.
Nothing can separate us from Love.
Nothing.
No thing.
Not one thing.
In this long letter, with its full and detailed explanation of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and into the midst of deep theological pondering of the Law and Justification by Faith, Paul bursts into certainty that there is nowhere Love is not.
Using poetically paired opposites, he scans the whole of creation, everywhere and everywhen, only to find a New Reality that involves God who loves so much.
God,
Who loves so much
Love,
that spills from the Maker, to Son, to Spirit,
Love spilling into hate,
Peace into judgement,
Hope into misery,
Joy into grief,
Wonder into indifference,
Memory into loss
Until …
Until we are caught up in an overflowing of Love
and there is nothing separating us from Love.
Nothing can separate us from the Heart of God.
Pause. Feel the sensation of this in your heart.
Take your time with this one prompt: Read Romans 8:38–39 slowly, perhaps several times. Which word or phrase catches you? What happens when you invite Paul’s “nothing” include whatever you are carrying today?
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