Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God
Today we’ve come to the final, and my most favourite, verse of Psalm 23:
Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. – Psalms 23:6 NIV
Before I dive in, I’m reminded of a time when I was chased by two ferocious stray dogs on the streets of Mumbai. I must have been 8 or 10 years old when they came charging at me, barking loudly. I screamed and ran as fast as I could. Thankfully, my dad was nearby. He dropped whatever he was doing and came to my rescue. He lifted me on his shoulders while kicking the dogs away.
Why am I sharing this story? And what does it have to do with Psalm 23? Let me tell you.
The Bible wasn’t written in English, and the original Hebrew word that David used for “will follow me” actually means much more than just following.
The word is “rāḏap̄,” which means to pursue, harass, run after, or chase like a dog.
See the connection?😉
God’s goodness and love don’t “just” follow us; they chase us relentlessly, much like a dog chases after its prey. Unlike the street dogs my dad managed to scare away, there is nothing we can do to make God’s love stop chasing us.
As Paul writes:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 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. – Romans 8:35,38-39
