Nothing Can Separate

Bible Reading: Romans 8:35-39; 1 John 4:13-16

SPLASH! Joelle’s brother filled the trench between their two sandcastles with a full bucket of water.

“No!” Joelle’s eyes filled with tears. “Now they can’t get to each other!” She jumped to her feet. “Take the water away, Stanley!”

Her brother shook his head. “There has to be water in the moat.”

“No!” Joelle looked between the two castles. “No!”

“What’s going on?” Tessa, their babysitter, walked up to them. “Joelle, calm down.”

“He put water between the castles!” Joelle pointed at her brother. “Now they can’t get to each other!”

Tessa smiled. “Oh, and they’re in love?”

“No!” Joelle stomped a foot. “Stanley has the king’s house. He built a castle for him. And I built the princess’s house. She’s his daughter. Her daddy needs to be able to get to her.”

“Oh.” Tessa scratched her head. “Hmm…”

“There has to be water in the moat,” Stanley said quickly.

“Well…” Tessa crouched down. “If the daddy loves the little girl, he will find a way to get to her.” She picked up a shell and set it by Stanley’s castle. “This is a boat for him to use to get to his daughter.”

“What if the boat doesn’t work?” Joelle asked, brushing at her eyes.

Tessa picked up a piece of driftwood and set it between the two castles. “And this is a bridge.”

Joelle swallowed. Maybe that would work.

“If the daddy loves his princess, he’ll find a way to get to her,” Tessa said. “Just like God will always find a way to be with us. Nothing can ever separate us from Him. Jesus became human and died to save us, and He will always be with us.”

“What about when we do bad things?” Stanley asked, looking up from his castle.

Tessa shook her head. “When we trust in Jesus, our sins are forgiven.”

“What about when it’s storming?” Joelle asked.

Tessa smiled and shook her head. “Are you asking about God or the people living in your castles?” she asked. “God won’t let anything separate you and Him. That king in Stanley’s castle is going to find a way to the princess, even if it starts to storm.”

Joelle stared at her babysitter for a long minute before she smiled too. She liked the thought of that.

-Emily Acker

How About You?

Do you know that if you trust in Jesus, He is there with you no matter what you face? He isn’t going to leave you because you do something bad or because your life is too messy. He came to earth, died for our sins, and then rose again so He could be with us forever. Nothing can separate God from His children. Even when you face storms in life, He will be with you.

Today’s Key Verse:
Romans 8:39 Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NLT)

Today’s Key Thought:

Nothing can separate you from God