Target is one of my favorite stores and it’s only two walking minutes away from my house. Regardless of how close it is, sometimes I drive. One afternoon in particular, I drove.
Once parked, I saw a mom with her two sons walking to the entrance.
The boys were no older than a year apart, about 2 and 3 years old. The 2-year-old was full of energy and was just-a-running. With his upper body angled forward, I knew he would fall.
Just like that, he fell. However, he got up, brushed off his little hands and kept moving. He started running again, with his upper body angled forward. And he fell again. But he got up, brushed off his hands and started running. To see his courage and willingness to run again reminded me of Romans 8: 35, 37-39.
The New King James Version reads as follows: “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword? 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors thru Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Nothing can separate us from the love of God, because that love is God!
One of the main benefits of this love is it empowers us to be more than conquerors! Bible scholar David Guzik said: “As more than conquerors, we overcome with the power of Jesus.”
We overcome as more than conquerors and we have surpassing victory, the meaning of conqueror in Greek. To add to that, surpassing means exceeding. Therefore, our victory in relationship with God through the love of Christ not only makes us inseparable (cue Natalie Cole) but it exceeds any power that is or can ever be created.
So, we have surpassing victory in this love and can be fully persuaded by this love. This certainty lets us stand firm in knowing not a nary’ann thing can separate us from the love of God.
I challenge you to try this, at least once.
Read v37 like this, “Yet, in all these things <INSERT YOUR NAME HERE> am more than a conqueror.” Read v38, like this, “For I <INSERT YOUR NAME HERE> am fully persuaded nothing shall be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus my Lord!”
The little boy in the Target parking lot reminded me of those verses because it was obvious he was fully persuaded that he was more than a conqueror. He didn’t let a couple falls separate him from his confidence that he could and would run.
He was fully persuaded to get up and try again.
He had surpassing victory, and so do we!
Rae Karim can be reached at rae.karim@gmail.com.
