by Gelly McAuliffe-Bunker
“Nothing can separate us,” Rom 8:38-39
Separation is a word which can strike terror into a cook’s heart. Okay, maybe I exaggerated, slightly. The whites need to be completely separated from the yolks so that they can reach their most-fluffy potential. Nowadays there are various tools and techniques which can help to achieve that. However, separation of eggs is not my primary focus. Instead, I want to segue to separation.
Separation suggests a coming apart. Sometimes separation represents a healthy and lifegiving action of making separate, as when conjoined twins are separated. More simply, the mentioned eggs can be separated in order to enhance the dish being prepared.
Other times, separation can be a painful experience, even if ultimately for our good. This includes the separation involved in leaving our beloved children behind for their first day of kindy or their first sleepover. You may remember it happening to you, or you may remember being the parent or guardian involved. It can be nerve-wracking, but we know that it is ultimately for our mutual benefit. This separation can be helpful in allowing us to come together into a stronger and more enriched unity. Separation can make the heart grow fonder.
In a spiritual sense, sins separated us from our Holy God. The first sin created disunity in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:8-19). From then on, the filth of sin kept us separated (Rom 3:23; 6:23). This was symbolised by the heavy curtain which hung in the temple, separating the holy place from the holy of holies (Exod 26:32-34). Only the high priest was allowed to enter, and only on the Day of Atonement, and only when ritually clean (Lev 16).
Earlier we mentioned the sense of angst in separation, experienced by both the parent and the child. Our Father God did not want that separation to endure. The sin in the Garden spoiled the unity God had been experiencing with Adam and Eve. God made a way for that unity to be restored. During the Easter season you may have reflected on the fact that in the moment when “Jesus breathed His last, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15:37-38). This was the curtain separating ongoing fellowship with God (Exod 26). Through His death, Jesus made a way, and the curtain was torn asunder (Heb 10:20).
Now nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. “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” (Rom 8:38-39). Even the rock separating us from the Risen Christ was removed (Matt 28:2). Our way to Christ and to the Father is clear.
So let us not stay separated. Let us come by faith, offering glory and praise to God. Let us shine His light and love in our spheres, following Him faithfully in all our relationships. To God be the glory.
Gelly Nic seeks to share God’s Word with others, that each may know and experience the incredible love and faithfulness of our God, who draws near to us as we draw near to Him (Jas 4:8). Her heart prayer is that those on the margins would find grace and true fellowship in God, and with His people.