Daily devotion – nothing can separate us
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Anzac Day, for me, has always been a very sombre day, especially when I was a child. My father served in the RAAF, and all my uncles fought in the Australian Army in New Guinea and Borneo. These were men for whom I had such great respect, who all entered the theatres of war in their early teens, with a number of them putting their ages up so that they could enlist.
War leaves its mark in many ways with the enormous loss of life, horrific injuries and the mental anguish of battle scenes and events that are forever etched into the minds of those involved.
But indeed, the most significant wound of war is the grief that fell on families and loved one’s back home whose dad, husband, brother, son ….were never to come home or to be seen ever again.
The grief from the battlefields and conflicts of each war does not stay on the battlefront; it makes its way to the home, the family, and the waiting loved one.
I recently read of the young West Australians and Victorians in Gallipoli who were ordered to attack the Turkish trenches with no bullet loaded in their rifle, fixed bayonets, and at the sound of a whistle, were to rush out of their trench and rush the Turkish lines.
The moment the whistle went, and they jumped out of their trenches, within less than a few metres, most of them were dead. Many of these men were 17 -19, their first time in battle and away from home.
Satan, our adversary, the Bible calls him the destroyer and murderer. It is he who seeks any and every which way to see God’s precious creation destroyed and sorrow fills their lives.
I thank God for sending His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world of violence, heartbreak and grief to bring us comfort that only He can give. To let us know that nothing can separate us from His love for us. We will also see our loved one’s again – the great promise of hope that we each can hold onto.
No matter what our enemy does, he can never separate us from Christ’s precious love.
This Anzac Day reminds me of this great promise of reconciliation with those who have died.
1 Thessalonians 4: 13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died[fn] will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.