Read It:
Romans 8
Live It:
Today’s passage is about the new creation that results from accepting Jesus, the Messiah, as our Lord and Master. The first part of this magnificent chapter talks about the life we have in the spirit as opposed to the life under the law. Life in the Spirit is ours as a result of the great gift of God, the sending of His Son as the one and only sufficient sacrifice for our sins. As people move from a life controlled by their sinful nature to a life under the control of the Holy Spirit, they attain peace and become pleasers of God. The Spirit residing in us gives us the privilege of addressing God as “Abba, Father” or in today’s terms, as “Daddy!”
Although it is wonderful to live in the Spirit and enjoy the benefits discussed above, there is the suffering aspect of living in the Spirit. The suffering, however, is only temporary, but the glory yet to be revealed to us is eternal. So in essence, we trade some suffering here on earth for an eternity in the presence of God, basking in the weight of His glory.
All of the benefits that accrue to us are the result of God’s love for us (humankind). The last two verses of this chapter make up one of the greatest golden nuggets of eternal truth ever known to man:
Romans 8:38–39 (NLT) “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.”
Pastor Rod