Marks of the King

"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).

The experience of the love of Christ in tribulation or distress puts a very distinctive impression of Him upon the heart. I have a blank sovereign (British coin) which has never been minted; it is gold, but it does not bear the features of the king. It needs pressure to stamp the king's image there. I believe that the time of trial is the time when a distinctive impression of Christ and His love is put upon the believer. We more than conquer when the pressure of persecution results in the features of Christ appearing distinctively in us.

—From An Outline of the Epistle to the Romans by C.A. Coates.