The Love of God 

   “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 8: 38 – 39) 

   These words of St. Paul should give us great comfort and peace.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from the love of God.  No worldly desires, no temptations of Satan, nothing can take us from the love God offers.

   Yet, there is one way to be separated from God.  It doesn't come from anything external, but from within us.  Through our sinfulness we can destroy our closeness to God, abandoning His love.  Our sins are the nails that penetrated the hands and feet of our Lord on the cross and our sins are the means by which we can separate ourselves from God.

   We like to blame our failures on Satan or the ways of the world, but our failures are our own, the result of our choices in life.  For the devil to be successful we must choose to accept his temptation.  By that acceptance we abandon God and His love.  While God will never abandon us we can abandon Him.

   Even when we turn from Him in our sin, He waits for us, hoping for our repentance.  He desires our return to Him rather than our condemnation.  “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15: 10).  No sin is so great, no act so heinous that God will not forgive when we approach Him in sorrow and seek His mercy.

   When we turn to God with love, trust, and repentance the light of His love will shine upon us.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God when we seek Him with an open heart full of love.