word choice
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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.
I find it intriguing that Paul would use the word “convinced”. He doesn’t state it as an *a priori* fact, something you just have to take at face value, or accept because someone in authority told you it was truth. Rather, he came to this realization, possibly over time… possibly over struggles and challenges to believe, seeing God and His love come through in those roughest of circumstances. Paul didn’t get this in a classroom, but on the mission field… dealing with nice and not so nice people… watching his boat get ripped apart… sitting in jail… Paul didn’t get this because his life was *blessed* by Western standards – he understood it because he experienced both sides of the fence.
This is both a wondrous truth and a scary ocean. It is a personal challenge to keep your eyes open in all situations, face them head on instead of retreating, and *become convinced* that they will not separate you from His love.
More to say… no words to say it with…