Day 4
Read: Romans 5: 8 – 11
Words have always held profound power and meaning to me. I love looking at repeated words or phrases, similar or conflicting words, definitions of words, etc. When reading the Bible, this is my go to study method to really break apart a passage. While reading this Romans passage, these words and phrases stood out to me:
- But God shows his love (ESV) / God demonstrates his own love (NIV) / God proves His own love (HCSB)
- we were still sinners
- justified by His blood; (justified – declared or made righteous in the sight of God) (Oxford Dictionary)
- saved by him from the wrath of God
- enemies
- reconciled/reconciliation
- by the death of His Son
Throughout Paul’s letter to the Romans, he makes the case that our righteousness comes through our faith in the justification of our sins. He desperately desires for the recipients to truly know and understand the good news of who Jesus is. In these verses, Paul writes that God proves His love to us through Christ’s death. He argues that our sinfulness makes us enemies with God. When we are living according to our own fleshly desires, we are in opposition to the holiness of God. The only way we can be reconciled to Him, is through the death of his own Son. It is through Jesus’ death that we are saved from the wrath of God. We are no longer enemies, but are reconciled.
I do not necessarily have enemies, but even thinking of people who have caused me anger or hurt – I cannot imagine offering up my sweet baby girl in order to reconcile the relationship. It would be easier to cut ties and count my losses. In fact, reconciliation is the last thing on my mind. It speaks volumes about God’s love for us, that He would willingly set this plan into motion. He knew the only way for His creation (who hurt Him, angered Him, disappointed Him, and disrespected Him) to have a restored relationship with Him was through the perfect life and offering of Jesus. We could not be declared righteous in the sight of God without the shedding of Jesus’ blood.
Smile in a Cup: Even while we were actively sinning against Him, Christ willing died for us so that we could be reconciled to God.
Questions to Journal about or Comment below:
- Do you feel like it is easy to grow cold or calloused to hearing the Gospel? Why do you think that is?
- In what ways could you freshly encounter the Gospel to appreciate the weight of its meaning?
Smile in a Cup 