Nothing Can Separate

Published: Oct. 11, 2022, midnight

Not five days had passed since we began our journey, and already we had\nseen trouble. My brother and I dragged our tired bodies down the road, our\ndented swords hanging limply in their scabbards and our stomachs moaning\nwith hunger. I remembered how Supreme Agape told us that we would have\ntroublesmany of themand that the journey would be far from easy. Even so,\nthis particular hardship made me feel so defeated and inexpressibly weary.\nRen, my brother, placed his hand on my shoulder and whispered, Nothing can\nseparate, Jayla. It was our code of courage, our call to continue the\njourney despite everything thrown at us. I must remember. The next day\ndawned with clear blue skies, and my heart lifted as we continued on our\nway. Ren was his usual jovial self, making jokes and attempting to bolster\nmy spirits from the troubles we had encountered. I didn\u2019t know then that\nlate in the day it would be my turn to remind and encourage. There was\nsevere famine everywhere, and our reserves of food were gone. Large eyes in\nthe gaunt faces of those we passed haunted us. Ren was already practically\na giant for his age, which I teased him about incessantly. But the lack of\nfood was wearing on him most of all, and it broke my heart to see him so\nweak. So, to cheer him up, I did what he couldn\u2019t do, a wild dance of\nabsolute ridiculousness, and yelled, Nothing can separate! Hungry as Ren\nwas, he laughed at my antics. He must remember. Weeks later, I clung\ntightly to the cliff high on the Great Mountain. Heights were never my\nthing, and I honestly felt death would be preferable to continuing upward.\nRen\u2019s arm was injured from a prior sword fight, and he was struggling just\nas much as I was. Through labored breaths, I said, Supreme Agape told us\nto cross the mountain, but I don\u2019t know if we\u2019re going to make it, Ren. I\ntried to ignore the clouds swirling around my ankles. Just when we were\nabout to give in to complete despair, a warm, golden light surrounded us. A\nvoiceso pure and beautiful it brought tears to my eyessang over us:\nNothing can separate you from my love. I knew His voice. Supreme Agape.\nWe remembered. Savannah Coleman In Greek, the word \u201cagape\u201d means love\n(the New Testament of the Bible was originally written in Greek). Why do\nyou think Jayla and Ren call God Supreme Agape? (Hint: read 1 John 4:16.) \nBefore Jesus went to the cross, He told His followers, Here on earth you\nwill have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome\nthe world (John 16:33). As Christians, we can trust Jesus to be with us\nuntil the day our journey endsand beyondbecause even death cannot\nseparate us from His love. Just as God raised Jesus from the grave, He will\nraise us all on the last day, and those who put their trust in Jesus will\nlive eternally with Him, free from all suffering and sorrow. How can\nremembering God\u2019s unstoppable love for us give us hope in the midst of\nhardships? We were never meant to journey through life alone. Once we\u2019ve\nput our trust in Jesus, we are part of His family (the church), and fellow\nChristians are our brothers and sisters. Who has God brought alongside you\nduring this leg of your life journey? How can you encourage each other and\nremind one another that nothing can separate us from Jesus\u2019s love? (If no\none comes to mind, you can ask God to reveal trustworthy companions in His\ngood timing.) And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from\nGod\u2019s love. Romans 8:38a (NLT)\nRead Verses:\nJohn 10:27-John 10:30; Romans 8:35-Romans 8:39