5 For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. 6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Sometimes we just need a simple reminder of God’s love. The Christian life can get complicated at times….or perhaps it is better to say, we can complicate the Christian life at times. We get caught up in side issues, in ministry busyness, in relational struggles, in lists of responsibilities, in feelings of frustration and failure…and in the midst of all that the beauty and wonder of God’s love is lost. Romans 5 is a good reminder of God’s love.
Romans has slapped us in the face with the reality of our sinfulness. We are all sinners and we all fall short of God’s righteousness. On top of that, there is nothing we can do in our strength to correct the problem. Our heart is incurably selfish and corrupt. We need a full transplant not just more exercise and a few doses of Plavix. Our situation seems pretty dire until we read Romans 5.
God demonstrates His great love for us in that we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The highest human love we have ever seen or heard about is someone dying for a friend or for an especially good person. These stories grip our hearts and imagination because we recognize the enormity of the sacrifice. I think of the love of my sister Jill who was willing to accept the struggles and pains of cancer, even to death, if it meant that her faith in the midst of the fire would cause my father to humble his heart, turn his eyes toward God, and trust in Christ as his Savior. I think of Memorial Day and the countless men and women who gave up their lives for the benefit of the citizens of this country. These are the highest examples of love and sacrifice that we can think of….except when we think of Jesus Christ. He willingly died, not for good people, but for those who were eager to crucify Him, for those who had turned their backs on God, for those who would rather go their own way…for us.
If God has shown us that kind of love, then we have no reason to doubt His love now. We can trust His heart. He is a good God…a God of kindness, mercy, and grace.
We can trust His heart when we go through trials. God will ultimately use even the tragic things in our lives for our good (Romans 5:3-5).
We can trust His heart when we fall into sin after salvation. If Christ died for us while we were sinners, how much more will He keep us now that we are His sons and daughters (5:9-10).
We can trust His heart when we consider the countless number of people in the world who have never heard the gospel. Adam’s sin brought condemnation to all mankind, but Christ’s righteous act has brought the offer of salvation and grace to everyone (5:18-19). We may not know how it works or how God will sort it all out in the end, but we can trust His heart. He is a good God.
And because He is a good God, we can rejoice. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. God has showered us with His grace, saved us by His Son, saturated us with His Spirit, and embraced us as His children, as His friends. There is reason to rejoice.
Lord, in the midst of the busyness of the day, may I stop long enough to remember Your love and Your grace and find reason to rejoice.