Romans 8:31 What then are we to say about (our hardships)? If God is for us, who is against us? …35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

The Christian believers in Rome suffered a great deal in all kinds of ways. Some of those ways are named here: hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, the sword. These challenges were an everyday reality to the early Christians. What about you and me? Do we have these same challenges? I think not.

We might think of “the sword” as a metaphor for other threats in our lives because most of us will never have a literal sword thrust in our faces because of our faith in Jesus. So this morning I was wondering – what kinds of threats/obstacles would Paul list if he were living in our communities today? Probably not the sword or famine, but other things perhaps: Depression. Violence. Unforgiveness. Spiritual rebellion. Poverty. Loneliness.

What other things might you list?

Lord Jesus, thank you for the victory we have over sin and death. Forever. Amen.