First Things
"But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
How we perform is important in this world — on every level. From work to family to sports to church, we are assessed based on our competence, commitment, output, effectiveness, etc. And much of the time this is helpful because it aids our understanding of how we're doing and how we can improve.
But that performance-based mindset can have devastating consequences when it bleeds into relationships and sets up conditions for love and acceptance. And nowhere is this truer than when it infiltrates our perceptions and beliefs about God.
But here's the thing, misunderstanding God's love for us as conditional based on performance is incredibly common. And I guess it makes sense because there are commands and consequences for disobedience dispersed throughout all of the Scriptures — both in the Old and New Testaments. So we must understand this correctly to grasp truly the good news message of Christ crucified. And the verse above from our upcoming epistle reading is helpful in that regard.
You see, God's love in Christ was enacted while we were still sinners before we had any inclination to obey or follow him. Now you might object by observing that Christ died long before any of us were even born.
But the point here is that God's love for us predated anything good that we might do. God's plan to redeem us through the cross was put into place when humanity was still in rebellion. It wasn't based on our goodness but on his love for us even when we were in a sinful state. And the case Paul is making here is that if he treated us that way while we were enemies, how much more will he pour out his grace upon us now that we are his children.
While it's true that there are commands and consequences in the Scriptures, those come after God has already accepted us into his family. We didn't have to perform in order to receive adoption. That came freely, lovingly, lavishly. And now in response to that great love, he has called us to live a life that reflects his love back to him and to others — not to earn his love but to channel it. There's a big difference.
First things must be first, you see. And the first thing in the gospel message is that God loved us while we were still sinners. Above all, friends, let that reality sink in this Lent, and may it fuel our Lenten practices and lead us closer to God.
Darin+