For I am persuaded that not even death or life,
angels or rulers,
things present or things to come, hostile powers,
height or depth, or any other created thing
will have the power to separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Without such a promise, how would one survive the brutality and banality of this existence? This promise brings an almost unbelievable hope not only to the one who suffers but also to the one who does not suffer. This hope rises up in the crisis and also in the mundane routine of the everyday. Without this promise, life has no meaning or momentum. As we age, we feel the stab of pain, the weight of uselessness and the emptiness of earthly baggage – all of which press to separate us from Christ. This word of eternal union saves us.
To KNOW there truly is no separation from Christ is to KNOW true salvation.