Songs In The Night

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:35-39

Tribulation

Just when you think there are no more tears in the well, another tragedy strikes. Just three months removed from the death of Baby Isaiah, another baby has passed in the womb. Another young couple and their families are devestated.

Concerns that arose because of an extended period of time without feeling movement were followed by ultrasounds that confirmed the fears. No heartbeat.

How could this happen? Again? Whereas Isaiah was eight months gestation, this little girl (Josie) was three days overdue. And like Isiah, every indication was that the she was a healthy baby. So what went wrong? This isn’t supposed to happen to a child that is carried full term. At least that is what we expect. But death has a way of dashing our hopes and altering our expectations.

Distress

Instead of celebrating the birth of a newborn, we had a gathering a few nights ago to pray for the grieving couple and their families. Anticipated joy has been turned into mourning. As we lifted our intercessory prayers to Heaven, the room was full of a lot of tears and sniffles. For many in the room, death has become all too familiar.

In between the tragedies of the two stillborn babies, was the tragedy of the death of a vibrant ten year old boy (Silas) to a farming accident. Everyone in the room that night was touched by each of the three recent deaths to varying degrees. For most of us, it has felt as though we have been blindsided by one tragedy after another before we have had a chance to recover from the previous.

As I scanned the room that night, I couldn’t help but think about the impact death has had on the group. One young man who has buried a brother was sitting next to a young couple who has buried a son who was sitting next to a young girl who has buried a sister, who was sitting next to a couple who just buried a nephew (the aforementioned ten year old), who was sitting next to my daughter who just buried her firstborn…which only gets us halfway around the room.

Sadly, most of these people have not yet made it out of their twenties, and already death has become a familiar visitor.

These Things

Life is full of grief. You know that as well as I do. As Christians, we are not immune from the unpleasantries that Paul listed in Romans chapter eight. Things like tribulations, distress, persecution, etc. will be part and parcel our daily existence as long as we tread earth’s soil. In fact, some of them are peculiar to Christians. But they don’t get the final word.

The day after the confirmation of the ultrasound, we had the blessing of spending a brief time with the grieving family. As emotional as it was, it was an honor to hug them and express our love and concern. And before we parted, we had a solemn time of prayer. Prayer can be difficult when life is full of grief, but it is our connection with reality. When “these things” overwhelm us, it is time for a proper perspective.

A perspective that Paul gives us in Romans chapter eight.

Inseparable

As I was contemplating the statistical improbabilities of the past events, wading through the emotions and trying to keep everything in a spiritual perspective, I read these words that our Heavenly Father inspired Paul to write to the Romans. While the list of things that often seem to roll upon us like waves on a shore may seem overwhelming, none of them is more powerful than the love of God. More specifically, the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The love of God sent His only begotten Son to take on flesh and blood and die on the brutal Roman cross for our sins. The love of Christ made Him obedient to the Father’s will in setting His face towards Jerusalem and the cross, knowing He would have to drink the cup of God’s wrath to it’s horrible dregs.

This is the love that the Trinity has for God’s children, and nothing can separate us from it. This is the love that makes us more than conquerors. Even over death.

Ultra Conquerors

As we sat around the room in our prayer meeting, I don’t believe any of us felt like conquerors. But despite our feelings, the Truth is that is what we are. In fact, we are more than conquerors.

Because death is so tangible and overwhelming I asked myself how this could be. And then I reflected on more of Paul’s writings in this same chapter of Romans.

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…. ¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him….²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Take to heart what God is saying in these verses. His love not only sent His Son to the cross on our behalf, it also chose us before the foundation of the world and will safely keep us in His hand until we are glorified. In fact, it is so certain that it is already referred to in the past tense!! In this entire chain, from calling to glorification, it is God who is acting, and He will bring to completion what He has started (Phil. 1:6). As Paul wrote, it is according to His purpose (v. 28).

Conquering Love

As I left the prayer meeting that night, I couldn’t help notice the irony. We were asked to join the “young” persons Bible Study group for this particular evening to join in prayer for a grieving family coping with the death of a child, yet it wasn’t death that brought us together, it was love. Love for the grieving family, love for the young people in the Bible study group, love for the sanctity of human life, and love for our Savior. And it is just a glimpse of how we can be certain we are more than conquerors.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. – 1 John 4:19

Baby Jedidiah, Baby Isaiah, young Silas, and now Baby Josie are all in Heaven. Life’s trials will no longer reach the “shore” they now stand upon. They are safely embraced in the scarred hands of Jesus. And so are we. Death may have reared it ugly head once again, and it will continue to do so, but it will never conquer the love of God in Christ.

Our loved ones in Christ who have gone home before us may be (and they are) enjoying more of the fruits of their salvation than we can, but they are no more secure than those of us still treading earths turbulent waters.

God loves us. He has a purpose for us. He has guaranteed it ends in glorification. We don’t know when He will choose to call us Home, but we know that His timing is perfect. The more we remember that this world is not our home and that because of God’s love glory awaits us, the more we will “feel” like conquerors.

May the Truth of God’s love cause our faith to grow, even in the face of death!! After all, death doesn’t get the final word. Conquering love does!!!