Romans 8 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. Paul’s timeless words reach a mighty crescendo in v.35, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” The answer: “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The image of Christ as a victorious conqueror is seen elsewhere in Paul’s writing. Colossians 2:15 speaks of Christ disarming the powers of evil, making “a public display of them.” The image is of a conquering King leading his captors in a victory procession, a common practice in the Roman world. 2 Corinthians 2:14 has a similar tenor: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ…” Paul is clearly crowning Jesus Christ as an eternally victorious figure.

Paul is underscoring the central tenet of the Gospel: a God who goes to unimaginable lengths to redeem His people. God shows His love for us most clearly in the person of Jesus Christ. And the work of the Christ is to conquer every foe & adversary that might separate us from God. We must be reminded that for nearly 2,000 years, God’s people on this side of the cross, have access to Him unlike our spiritual ancestors. Generations of godly men & women were commanded to approach God through the Law, the sacrificial system, the high priest & the temple with it’s walls, courts & curtains. Now, the veil has been lifted, the curtain has been ripped, the Temple walls have been knocked down and Jesus, our High Priest, has made atonement for us. The only thing that can now come between you and God is you. Your decisions. Your idols. Jesus was victorious over every obstacle & adversary; the only thing He can’t defeat is what you won’t allow Him to.

Will you let Jesus be the conqueror of your life? Will you allow Him to clear the path of every idol you’ve erected? He died, and He rose again; He conquered death, don’t you think He can help you with your priorities, or your relationships, or your integrity, or your purity, or your thought life, or your relationship with your parents? He’s so much more than we let Him be sometimes. I pray today you would become more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ, our victorious King!