What will separate us from the Love of Christ?

This is a simple but difficult question posed by our brother Paul in Romans 8:35. From the explanation given as you read the remaining part of this chapter, it seems obvious that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. You will be correct to assume that this would be the case especially when you read earlier in verse 28 of the same chapter, “We know that all things work for good for those who love God.” The phrase to note here is “For those who love God.” Going back to the title of this post, “What will separate us from the love of Christ?” The answer would be predicated on the fact that nothing can separate those who love God from the love of Christ.

I dare say that the only person who can separate you from the love of Christ is yourself. Life has taught us that it is not every one who loves God; there are those who call themselves atheist. Christ himself attested to the fact that, “Not those who call me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of God” (Mat. 7:21). In Luke 6:46 Christ posses this interesting question, “Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and not do what I say?” Yet God has blessed us with the gift of free will. This act of the will is to enable us to choose to do what is right.

Every day we are faced with choices and decisions. Every decision that we make is capable of bringing us closer to our redemption or away from it. Unfortunately we do not always choose the good. Though our intellect and will are well able and capable of directing us towards the good, our choice is, more often that not, directed towards something that will satisfy our immediate yearnings and aspirations. Some of our yearnings are only seemingly good but not the good. Our ultimate good and the object of our aspiration is to behold the beatific vision of God. St. Augustine put it explicitly well when he observed, O God you have made us for yourself, our hearts cannot be at rest until they rest on God.  Paul himself experienced this dilemma in his life. He says in Romans 7:14-24, “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold into slavery to sin. What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I concur that the law is good. So now it is not longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good in not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body?”

Here then is the problem of the modern Christian: doing the right and avoiding the wrong; choosing to live for Christ and shunning the enticement of the evil one. This is anything but easy! Just look around you, everything you see, everything you hear is urging you to satisfy yourself, to shun sacrifice, to flee from work and be engaged in leisure seeking trip, avoid prayer, penance and mortification and take life easy, after all, God understands. How right was John in his first letter chapter 2:15-17 for warning us thus, “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.”  

If we do not want to be separated from the love of Christ, then we have to constantly chose Christ and make right decisions. Hell means a life without God. The decision to go to hell may not be intentionally made at one time but a continuous pushing out of God from our lives. The simply decision to do the right and to shun evil could be a step in the right direction.