Thank God for His love
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Rev. Christopher Todd
Words of Restoration
Life is frequently filled with disappointments, with people and circumstances alike. However, there is good news amid our disappointments; we have a God that does not disappoint.
Romans 5 tells us that you and I have hope, even in affliction, because we already know how dearly God loves us. Verse 5 reminds us that we have a divine deposit; God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. However, we have a divine deposit, and God demonstrated the depth of His love.
We need this reminder. Perhaps you need this reminder as you are reading these words. Despite what you are going through, you and I as children of God can be assured of God’s love because of what He’s already done for you. We can be assured of God’s love because of what God has already done for us. And any disappointment, whether present or potential, should not distract us from the depth of God’s love.
As a matter of fact, in our circumstances, we can be assured of this love. God’s love for us is a despite love; it is an incomparable love. God’s love is unbeatable. His love is a superior superlative love. And this love has already demonstrated the depth of His love for us.
That is Romans 5:6-8 in a nutshell, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person, perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (CSB)
We have good news in that God has demonstrated His love for us despite humanity’s inherent sinful disposition. Essentially, before Christ and without Christ, we were all in bad shape. The passage mentioned above utilizes various terms, all negative, to describe our character and condition. We were helpless, weak; on our own, we were powerless to work out our own salvation.
We are also described as ungodly. We could be characterized as rebels against God. Even the best of people can be on the wrong side of the fence. That is our condition without Christ. Thirdly, the passage describes humanity as sinners; we were neither righteous nor good.
Whether you were in church or the club, if you went to Sunday School or you lived life in the streets, without Christ and before a relationship with Christ, we all had this same disposition, helpless and weak, unable to save ourselves because we were sinners.
However, God demonstrates the depth of His love in that while we were still weak, while we were ungodly, and while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That is encouraging news!
Despite who you are, what you have done, where you have been, we have a God who loved you enough to give His Son to sacrifice His life for you. Tony Evans states, “He (God) loved us when there was nothing lovely about us.” What great depth of love God has for us.
This love is demonstrated with the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. In the midst of our incapability, Jesus shows up and is fully capable of satisfying the payment for our sins. When we couldn’t save ourselves, God sent His Son, and His Son gave His life, in our place, for our good, to save our souls. That is what it means to die for the ungodly; Christ died to atone for our sins.
This is an extraordinary act of love. Verse 7 reminds us that someone might die for a good person, or perhaps for a good cause. But God’s love is more significant than that. His love is not human love; it is extraordinary. While someone might die for a righteous or good man, Jesus Christ showed His love by dying for ungodly helpless sinners like you and me.
On full display, at Calvary’s cross, God demonstrates the depth of His love. He proves His love for us when He gave up His life for us. This is extraordinary!
When you consider this depth of God’s love and the demonstration of God’s love, there is no room for disappointment with God. Even in our circumstances, even in affliction, we have a God who has poured out His love in you and proven His love for you. Thank God for His love!
Christopher M. Todd is a Coosa County resident and the pastor of The New Home Missionary Baptist Church near Rockford.