I Am Persuaded

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38 & 39

Paul was very certain about the power of the love of Christ.  Our text today reveals the depth and strength of that certainty.  Having asked the question a few verses before, ‘who shall separate us from the love of Christ?’ he now goes on to delineate who would desire and attempt to separate us from His love.  He identifies death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, height, depth and any other creature.  In the most definitive and categorical way, Paul eliminates any one and anything which might possibly be a candidate for separating us from the love of Christ.  Paul was the foremost missionary and premier theologian of the New Testament era of the Christian Church.  Of all people, he demonstrated that he understood Christ and the ways of God with respect to redemption and the purposes of God for His people.  Therefore Paul could speak authoritatively regarding the love of Christ and the power of it.  We can take His words to heart.  This is tremendously reassuring.  We are not Christ’s because our love binds Him to us.  We are Christ’s because His love binds us to Him.  Nothing, and no one can separate us from His love.

Our Wise and Loving God,
we rejoice at the strength of the love of Christ for us.
We praise You that You will never allow anything or anyone
to separate us from that love
and that it will extend to an endless eternity.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning