Overcome: Nothing can hinder God's love

Have you felt the gentle pulsing of an obstacle in your life and have you therefore been restricted, held back or slowed down in your project? I have often recognized myself as a prisoner of the weather when unpredictable weather thwarts my departure for a new adventure. Urban journeys become mazes through the web of road works. Some may be discouraged from engaging in an otherwise mundane cleansing ritual by the presence of a spider in the bathroom — especially if a spider phobia casts its shadow over them.

The possibilities of the obstacle are manifold in our life. Sometimes we appear as obstacles to others, such as when we oppose their advancement opportunities or occupy the fast lane on the freeway with our slow driving, which can lead to unexpected delays and rescheduled appointments. Sometimes an obstacle feels like a pawn in a power game.

But what about God? Can anything disturb its divine course? Is it possible that our attitudes, our stubbornness, or our sins could prevent Him from manifesting His will? The answer to that reverberates through the universe with a clear and resounding no.

In Acts of the Apostles, God grants us insight through Peter in a vision in which he reveals that God's purpose is to draw all people to himself. He includes all peoples who will hear his voice and accept his words of love, whenever that may be.

Remember the account when Peter visited the Roman centurion's house to preach and share with him and his household the good news that God had given him: "But as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them as well as on us in the beginning. Then I thought of the word of the Lord, when he said: John baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If then God gave them the same gift as also gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could resist God? When they heard this, they were silent and praised God, saying, "God has given the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life." (Acts 11,15-18).

Peter, the speaker of this revelation, proclaimed that through Jesus Christ nothing can prevent man from having a relationship with God. This realization was a revolution, an overthrow of the established order in a culture that believed that pagans, unbelievers, or dissenters could not have the same calling.

It is and remains God's purpose to draw all people to himself. Peter was one of the first to recognize that nothing can prevent God from doing his will and fulfilling his sacred mission.

Dear reader, is there something stopping you from living in an intimate relationship with God? There are certainly some obstacles that immediately come to mind. But what could stop God? The answer is simple: nothing! For this truth we should have gratitude in our hearts. For nothing - not a storm, not a fear, not a mistake - can stop the love of the Father, the Son and the Spirit for all of us. This realization, this indomitable flow of divine love, is the true good news that we should proclaim and carry in our hearts.

from Greg Williams

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