EVEN WHILE ENEMIES “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…. For, if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom. 5:8-10).
Love is easy if it’s convenient, if it’s to our benefit, and if it brings delight. But what about when none of those things are present? Remember these hard words: “...love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you” (Mt. 5:44). Well, that is exactly how God loves! That is how He expects us to love also. Jesus died for us even when “we were still sinners,” even while we were his “enemies.” Great is the love of God that sends His Son to save “sinners” and “enemies,” including the ones who killed Him!
Furthermore, Jesus did not quit loving when He ascended to heaven. Even now, God loves sinners and His enemies.
Men come before God, scared. They have glimpsed the gates of hell, heard the screams of the damned, and felt the despair of the banished. Fear of judgment and punishment compels them. They dread “the terror of the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:11). Repentance is sparked by seeing what eternity holds for the lost. But not all who repent, do so out of fear. Others may view the cross and see a dying Savior placed there because of their sin: A sacrificial offering because God’s love is too great to abandon them to hell. Such love compels men. Not all, but many repent and turn to God, responding to His manifest love. They don’t “despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering,” but are living proof that “the goodness of God leads … to repentance” (Rom. 2:4).
Already a Christian? Already knelt at the foot of Jesus’ cross? Well, God is not finished loving yet! Jesus’ sacrifice continues for Christians! His love reaches and forgives even Christians who are bumbling, weak, ignorant and character flawed. They are His sons! They are committed to doing right and can often fail. On occasion, they fall on their face, and rise weeping — shamed by their sin. God still loves them. He still forgives His struggling and faltering sons.
When we forget that God still loves us, that Jesus’ sacrifice still cleanses us, that Jesus still intercedes for us in heaven, then despair will inevitably overwhelm. Complacency will settle in, and eventually, worship becomes an empty ritual. We will never lose God, nor our fervor, until we forget His love which compels us to love Him, thank Him, and serve Him.
God loves us! He still loves us! What good news! And let us love one another just as God freely loves us.
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