No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. – Romans 8:37
We are sheep. We are weak, make bad decisions, don’t know how to get what we really need, are easily distracted and lost. We aren’t strong, we don’t fight well. We need a defender and a very patient guide. But we live in a dog-eat-dog world, and in this world, the sheep don’t stand a chance. Sheep will be torn to pieces, slaughtered, served up as dinner.
But not the sheep who follow Christ. They will not just do well, or simply win, they will super-overcome. They will be more than conquerors. Total, complete and utter victory will be theirs. Those who stand in and with and for Christ, though they face death, are assured that they will not be ultimately defeated. They will be ultimately victorious in a way that they cannot even begin to imagine now. Paul uses the word usually translated ‘overcome’, but the word by itself is not sufficient to express how much victory we will come into. It is intensified, and so we have the translation “more than conquerors”.
This is the wonder of the Kingdom of God, where a mere sheep could be a super-conqueror, not through its own power or intelligence or resources or planning (sheep utterly lack all these things), but through the victorious power of our God, the same power that raised Christ from the dead and who vanquished sin and death. That – He – is the power who will fully and finally defeat the Devil and all his schemes, and we will share in the victory of our Father and elder Brother.
This is the victory He won through deep humility and intense suffering, by putting aside His glory and becoming one of the sheep. It is not the brash victory of one who rides proudly on magnificent horses, with a vast army. In gracious patience – long-suffering endurance – He waited until just the right time to be born into the world. Our God’s victory was so humble, it seemed like defeat, but His holy love was proof against all that would come against it. It could not be overcome. And at just the right time, He will return to complete what He began and establish His Kingdom and bring His people home.
This is the way that victory is won in His Kingdom: through humility and suffering, in holy love. It is the way victory is won in our hearts and lives, if we are one of His children.
In this world, the way to win is through strength, amassing power and resources, or through influence, bringing people onside and capturing hearts and minds. It seems the war between Ukraine and Russia is pitting these strategies against each other. It’s the way humans have tried to win the game of life. But this is not how God’s children seek victory.
Our Father is all-powerful, we don’t need to seek power.
Our Father owns the universe, we don’t need to seek riches or territory.
Our Father loves us with the greatest, most faithful, unshakeable love, we don’t need to look for love anywhere else.
Our Father knows the depths of our being and has justified us, we don’t need to seek acceptance or approval.
God’s children follow the way of their older Brother, through humility and suffering, in holy love, to victory. But unlike our Brother, we do not need to forge the path – He has made that way – and we walk in His perfection. He has gone before us, the Holy Spirit accompanies us and the Father waits eagerly to meet us.
This truth guards us on two sides.
Some of us have a drive to win and will do almost anything to come out on top. The temptation is towards pride, potentially manipulative and underhanded methods, and dehumanising people in the competition. You may find it difficult to admit weakness and failings and to apologise. Maybe you have a tendency to charge ahead and ‘make things happen’. The impulse to do your best, to improve and to have a great outcome is good, but you have probably noticed (or will notice!) that you don’t succeed all the time and you are sometimes disappointed with your performance. There is good news for you: you don’t have to win at everything, and it will not affect your value in the only eyes that matter. You have already won, through Christ, the war that will guarantee your real success for eternity. You can rest in that.
Others of us hang back from striving and potential conflict. We would prefer to pass unnoticed through life, not making waves, but doing well enough. You may find that you find it difficult to assert yourself (or to want to assert yourself). Maybe you find it difficult to care about people’s progress and improving outcomes. You may want to be left to do just enough, the bare minimum. You may find yourself hanging back from challenges, and dehumanising people by not caring enough about them that you are willing to expend energy. The impulse towards peace, keeping things comfortable and easy everyone is good, but perhaps you have noticed that there are things you would like to achieve that you can’t muster the energy for. There is good news for you: you are completely secure in Christ – there is no more stable place you can find yourself – and you can move into places of discomfort and uncertainty in the confidence that you will not fall from His hand. There is a place for striving for the good of your community because you know what the good truly is. You need not fear that your striving will be for nothing because, through Christ, what you are striving for has been won for eternity. You can rest in that.
We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.
We can strive without fear of failure. We can fail without losing everything. We need never lose hope or feel defeated or despondent. He has won.
Prayer focus:
- Praise God that He has won the victory and we share in it as His children. Praise God that we are more than conquerors in Him.
- Pray that God we would be bold in the way we move out as God’s children in the world, with our eyes set on Him.
- Pray for those who don’t know Christ, who feel truly stuck in hopeless situations. Pray also for our brothers and sisters who don’t know how to live out this truth. Pray that we can be beacons of light and hope that point them to Christ.
