More Than Victorious
Romans 8:35-39
There are some things about Christianity, no matter what flavor, denomination, or subculture, that are universal. The sacrament of communion is universal. The gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are universal.
And so too is Paul's encouragement in Romans 8: "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." Before any doctrine, any creed, any litmus test, any symbol, or hymn this truth precedes all else: nothing can separate us from the fact that Jesus loves us enough to die for us.
God loves us enough to submit to death (Philippians 2:5-11) on our behalf. Even if we as a global human community manage to bring about the worst future for ourselves, God loves us. This ought to reassure those of us that are pessimistic about the future if nothing else will!
My faith can exhaust me when I become aware of just how interconnected, mutual, and inescapable my participation and experience of our sin is. Sin is a whole lot more than a laundry list of wrongs we may or may not commit. Sin is more like a disease from which we need to be cured. Sinfulness is a state of woundedness.
And Jesus Christ is our healer. God's grace is our medicine. And living a life guided by our faith to the best of our ability is our treatment plan! We need this healing constantly.
Living life these days as Christians, we can't sneeze without being affected by sin. We can't turn on a light in our house without that being connected with the sin of humanity that does harm to someone else. We can't buy food without being stuck with impossible choices--none of which are separate from the state of sin in which all of us are trapped.
There is absolutely nothing we can do ourselves to be untouched by sin, or remove our responsibility in the midst of our shared and mutual sinfulness. And this is why Paul's words are so good for us to hear. Because while nothing we nor anyone else can do can heal us and bring us innocence from our sin… nothing, no one can separate us from the love of Christ. None of us are innocent, but through Jesus Christ we can become justified!
So what do we do with this? I was struck by Paul's use of grammar in the first verses of Romans 8:35-39. He writes: "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?" Paul asks "WHO will separate us from the love of Christ?" And then provides examples of things we'd normally associate with "WHAT!"
At the end of the day, affliction, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and the violence of the sword are all things caused by human action or inaction. So maybe using WHO is right!
The problem of sin can feel overwhelming. But Paul in Romans reminds us that no matter what--no matter what--we are beloved. So instead of asking "what on earth could we possibly do in all of this sinfulness" to make a difference? Paul invites us to ask a different question: "What on earth could we possible do in our belovedness to make a positive difference in the midst of all of this sinfulness?"
We are more than victorious. And while we can't solve all of the problems sin creates, we can do the small things that are ours to do.
So be kind to one another. Plant a garden. Listen to someone in pain. Help someone in need. Let’s be a church that takes steps against the corporate effects of sin as well. We can invest in ways to combat climate change, or in ministries that impact homelessness. We can reflect a spirit of hope where there is despair, and we can raise a prophetic voice of warning when we witness injustice or oppression.
No matter what we do or do not do though, one thing remains universally true: we are beloved. Thanks be to God!
