Unbroken

Louis Zamperini knew how to take a beating.  Read the book or watch the movie “Unbroken,” and you’ll see what resolve looks like: getting “spiked” by a fellow racer only makes it run faster; it refuses to give up on a life raft in the middle of endless blue; it locks eyes with its torturer in a prison camp.  It’s an inspiring sight when you see someone who’s beaten, but not broken.

But that’s not you. That’s not the Christian life.  There’s quite a difference between Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4 and what he shares with us in Romans 8:31-39.  We don’t “survive” hardship or “endure” troubles.  We have victory upon victory in the middle of them.  We’re not simply unbroken in our troubles; we’re triumphant.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-- more than that, who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered 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 convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ 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. - Romans 8:31-39

There is a lot of great stuff that the Holy Spirit has loaded into these verses. Here are a few gems:

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Verse 35: The word for “separate” in the Greek is the same word used for “divorce.”  As a husband to his wife, God has pledged his love to us.  No one – not even our unfaithfulness – will end that relationship.

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Verse 35: “hardship” is a strong picture word in the original Greek.  It paints a picture that is horribly uncomfortable for the claustrophobic – and something all too familiar for those who know what ongoing problems and pressures feel like.

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Verse 38ff: the nouns in this section do not have definite articles, adding more emphasis to the very nature of the words.

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Our congregation uses the Imposition of Ashes on Ash Wednesday. There is a connection between this Epistle text and that rite. In verse 36, we find a reminder that we are indeed marked for death: the ashes bear witness to that fact.  But verse 39 reminds us that we have been marked for life by Christ Jesus: the sign of the cross bears witness to that.

In all of these verses one thought remains prevalent – we are unbroken in Christ Jesus! More than that, we are victorious in Christ Jesus!