But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 KJV
The Context:
As I read the chapter where today's extract is taken from, I am moved to appreciate God for all I have received. The chapter starts with highlights of all I have come to receive in and through Jesus. I have justification by faith, I have access to grace by faith, and I am able to look forward to trials also by faith, because all of them are working in me that which is God's perfect will.
The one thing then that makes me pause and wonder is this: what did I bring to the table that allowed me to walk away with everything listed in the passage under consideration? What price could I have paid that would be a fair reflection of all I have now received: grace, joy, hope, patience, and the many other things that come with the package of faith in God. Indeed, my life is not mine to live as I please, but one to live in appreciation of all I have received. How do I get to the point where I can really understand who I have become and what I have received?
The Message:
If a man deserved that which he received, he would not need to express gratitude. If a person could point to directed labour and effort that led to a determined end, it will be easy to link the effort to the result. It has always been the way of the earth, as God has graciously set it up, that there will be sowing and reaping. If I make the effort, the result will follow. This principle is easy when it comes to most things, but when it relates to salvation, it is a whole different principle. At the time I received it, I could not earn it. There was nothing I could have done or brought to God that would have been a fair price for the life He had to offer. In fact, I deserved death, as a result of sin. The principle of God has always been that the wages of sin is death. If I did the crime, I had to do the time.
God's principle is that whatever a man sows is what he reaps. I should have reaped death, and in line with God's principle, the price had to be paid. I could not pay it, so Jesus came in and paid the full price. The price for sin had now been fully settled, and I could come in to enjoy the benefits of that which I did not pay for. That is the reality of the benefits I enjoy today. I didn't earn them; someone else paid the price so I could stand where I am now.
And this is love, from God's perspective. He did not wait for me to be deserving; he made me deserving. His own kind of love wasn't waiting for me to merit it; his love made it possible for me to even dare to dream of possessing all on offer. His love wasn't the type to only give me gifts, but He made it first about himself. He is the greatest gift I could ever get, and with him comes all the other things that make for life and Godliness. This love was not about what I could get first, but about who I should know. You don't define God's love from what is visible but from who He is. It is who he is that defines what you then get. Men of the world do not understand this, as all they know is transactional: for me to get something, I have to give something. Thank God I couldn't earn this love, otherwise, I would not know its value and price. Thank God I did not need to pay a price again for the love I received, because there was nothing I could have brought that would measure up.
The Response:
In that light, what type of person then should I be? If I truly know the value of what has been paid to get me to the place where I stand now, how would I live? There is no room for pride or self-sufficiency; there is no room for any feeling of superiority. All I am and have reflect who I know.
Christ dying for me is the full expression of love. His love met me in sin, but did not leave me in it. His love pulled me out of sin, and showed me the full picture of what I stand to gain in and through Christ. I have a decision to make: accept or reject that which has been done for me. God will not force His will on me, but I don't have all the time in the world to decide. God's love is eternal, but my response to him is time-bound. Just as his love will speak to eternity, so also will my response speak into eternity.
His love met me in sin, but will not leave me in it. While I have time, I must take full advantage of the love and gain all that is God. If such a high price of a life was paid to secure my own life, imagine the horror and the eternal consequence of rejecting that price. If God has done this much and I still reject his love, then I cannot blame him for the consequences of my decision. His love is free; my decision is of my own freewill. His time of favour is here.
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