When Love Dies for Us   

In my discernment a couple of weeks back, Romans 5:1-8 came to mind. I am not sure why; God does this sometimes. I want to explore this section from Romans and offer my feeble attempts at exploring this passage.  

Paul Talks about Suffering  

I spend a lot of time with suffering souls. I feel that this passage has been used in ways that it was not intended. Well-meaning people thinking that suffering is good for the wrong reasons, suffering for suffering’s sake makes you stronger. While I do believe to some degree in the idea of that which does not kill you makes you stronger, I do not think as some may believe in this passage, that God produces suffering.  

Ultimately, this passage comes back to God’s love for us. Romans 5:8 offers a powerful antidote to these feelings of guilt and unwantedness. It tells us that God’s love is not contingent on our actions or state of being. This is particularly relevant in a world where conditional love and acceptance are often the norms. Understanding this can bring immense peace and a sense of belonging. 

Suffering is part of our world. If we read Paul’s words through his contemporary Seneca, we can see that it is completely divorced from God’s actions. We create suffering when we cling too tightly to our desires or our expectations of an experience. God is with us in our experiences. God always is by our sides.  

Paul Talks about Being Justified by Faith 

I find this to be one of most misused and over used reason people do the things they do. It is almost as bad as misreading Philippians 4:13. What does Paul mean here?  

Faith is an action of being. I am reminded of Hebrews 11:13: 

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 

To strip away all the abusive language and justification for our bad behavior, it is felt that faith is a co action with humankind and God’s providence. To be justified by faith does not mean our faith gives carte blanche allowance to do what we want. To be justified is to live in the knowledge that God provides, God is with us. We are in a relationship with God, it God’s love that sustains that relationship. In response, we turn to God and work with God’s direction in our lives. We are justified because we listen and God is with us.  

Paul Tells us that Christ Died for Us 

Love is a fundamental attribute of God.  Romans 5:8, offers, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  

Love is not a static emotion; love acts. Sacrificial love of the type God demonstrated toward us amazes us because we know how challenging it is to give up something valuable for the sake of another. What is special about God’s demonstration of love is that God gave God’s life for God’s enemies. Even on the cross, Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of those murdering Him (Luke 23:34). Christianity is unique in this regard as it is the only religion that welcomes the ungodly: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). In other belief systems, humanity is left to work their way up toward God, but in Christianity God came down to us. 

When we say Christ died for us, we are saying that love died for us. For God so loved that he gave his only son it is written. I think this can also be interpreted, that because God loved us as a parent, as a guide, that out of love and compassion, Jesus showed up and showed us how terrible we were being to others. With this love and compassion, Jesus showed us how we can cultivate a loving horizontal relationship with God. For all his radicality, the state and religious officials of the time had Jesus brought up on fake charges and had him executed.  

When Jesus died that day, his love died too. But God prevailed. By grace and providence, love was resurrected and experienced by the remaining followers of Jesus, and they carried his message on.  

An odd thing happened this week. Hate prevailed here in America. I think love took a beating this week. But I am hopeful that our providential God, our Abba will continue to show up and show us that love prevails. Love will win if we can cultivate the moral courage to call out the hate and prop up love and grace in its place.