For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 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. Romans 8:38-39
There are a lot of different forces at work in the world, some that are seen and obvious and others that cannot be seen and may be more elusive. There is a realm that includes forces of darkness that would fall into that latter category. The principalities and powers of darkness are always trying to separate you from the love of God. There is also the battle between the flesh and the spirit, with the flesh constantly trying to lead you away from the Lord and His love for you.
As we see in our verses today, none of these forces, in and of themselves, have the power to separate you from Gods’ love — His love is stronger. We can, however, be deceived by the enemy into thinking that God’s love has somehow failed us or has been overcome. Now is a good time to be reminded that the devil is a liar and the father of lies. You may at times feel cut off from God’s love because of something you have done or just because of thoughts that try to convince you that God has abandoned you and no longer loves you.
In the fifteenth chapter of Luke, Jesus tells the parable of a son who left his father’s house (after asking for and receiving the inheritance that would have one day been his). With pockets full of money and very little, if any, experience with people who did not have his best interest at heart, this prodigal sets off to do or to experience or see or be whatever it is that prodigals have in mind when they leave a loving father and a life that anyone would love to have.
It didn’t take long for all of his newfound “friends” to squander his inheritance and then, before he even realized what had happened, he finds himself all alone in the world with nothing staring back at him from the mirror except bad choices and regrets. At this point, he had no place to go and ended up taking care of a farmer’s pigs. Even the pigs had it better than the prodigal; at least they got some slop to eat whereas he had nothing.
You would probably think by this point, just as he did, that he had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. He had left his father and everything that was good and safe and loving in his life only to end up hungry enough to share a meal with the pigs if he had gotten the chance. But one thing he never imagined with all of the mistakes and bad decisions he had made: that there could ever be a way for him to get back home. He headed back toward his father’s house, but only to ask to be a servant in his house, not to be a son again in his home.
Whenever you are feeling unloved and maybe even unlovable, remember the Father’s love for you. There may be plenty of things getting in your way and maybe even a few things getting you off track. You may not see a way back to the place you once were; where you felt safe and secure in your Father’s house. Just like the prodigal, it’s hard to comprehend how much God loves you. No matter what is working against you, His love is stronger!