Who Shall Separate Us?

 

A few years ago, a tragedy occurred in a small rural community. A little four-year-old boy was visiting his uncle. While the family was taking group pictures in the house, the little boy sneaked out the back door and went to a cage made of cyclone fencing where his uncle kept a 400-pound Bengal tiger. The tiger had been declawed and was reported to be very gentle, but that afternoon had been filled with thunder and lightning, which may have agitated the big cat. At any rate, when the little boy stuck his arm through the fencing, the tiger bit it off above the elbow. Fortunately, surgeons at Hermann Hospital were able to reattach the arm in a nine-hour operation and hope that he will eventually regain much of his ability to use that limb.

[1 Peter 5:8] "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Certainly, this was a terrible tragedy for the little boy and his family, but it is also a reminder to us of a Biblical teaching we seem to take lightly sometimes. If I knew a Bengal tiger or an African lion were roaming loose in our neighborhood, I would probably not go out to walk my dog at sunrise, nor would I do as casually some of the other things I generally do without much thought.

There are many religious leaders and religious bodies who question or actually deny the existence of the devil. On the other hand, the idea of a real spirit-being known as the devil is not only popular these days but is worshipped as a god in many communities across America and around the world. The Bible assures us he is real and is just as dangerous to our spiritual lives as that Bengal tiger or Peter's roaring lion. He can catch us off guard in a moment when everything seems to be going smoothly in our life, and before we know it, he has mauled us beyond repair. It only takes an unguarded moment. He can do his damage to our spirits and then leave us to suffer the consequences for a very long time. It may be anything from a young couple becoming sexually involved to an outburst of temper to a lie told that destroys trust. Anything the devil can do to undermine your Christian character and destroy your influence for good, you can be assured he will do it. One of his best tricks is to lull us into thinking that he – or the activity he is tempting us with – is harmless so that we'll think nothing of sticking our arms into his mouth. But, again, be rest assured that his goal is still to hurt us just as much as he can in this life in an attempt to separate us from God so that we will spend eternity sharing the devil's torment and regret in the eternal hell. As long as we keep our hands in the hand of Jesus, we have nothing to fear.

A third century man wrote to a friend: “It’s a bad world, an incredibly bad world but I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy that is a thousand times better than any pleasure of sinful life. They are despised and persecuted but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are Christians, and I am one of them.”

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For our sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).