And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).
Chalk it up to my love of all things Middle Earth, but I can’t read this verse without thinking of the Lord of the Rings movies.
When I hear “No power in the sky…” I envision the Nazgûl swooping down on the backs of their fell beasts to pick off the men of Gondor during their ill-fated retreat from Osgiliath.
“In the earth below…” brings to mind the fellowship’s encounter with the fiery Balrog deep within the caverns of Moria.
And of course, “nothing in all creation” could include all the orcs, goblins, trolls, and the myriad of other nasties found within Tolkein’s world.
I picture those foul creatures and think of how lucky we are that these “powers” are only the stuff of fantasy.
Or are they?
Now, I’m not saying the Nazgûl are real, but it does sound like Paul wants us to recognize how sometimes the things we think of as fantasy are actually a very real (but unseen) part of our reality.
Angels… Demons… Powers of Hell…
Paul is telling us that spiritual creatures do exist…and some of them are bent on your destruction. But his point isn’t that you need to be afraid of them. Quite the opposite in fact.
Paul wants you to know that no matter what you come up against, none of it will ever be able to separate you from God’s love.
Why? Because Christ has already sealed your destiny for all eternity. Which means that even death itself will be nothing more than your passage from this world into the loving arms of your Father.
So no matter what happens in your life from here out, God will always love you just as much as He loves Jesus. And nothing will ever change that.
Not your secret sins.
Not the sins of others against you
Not the mistakes from your past.
Not even the full power of hell set against you.
Nothing will ever separate you from the love of God because of what Christ has done for you.
