Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
The Great Price
John worked for the railway corporation for many years. He worked on a bridge that allowed ships and trains to pass through the same area. One day he decided to take his son to his workplace. The young boy enjoyed seeing the dad working the controls of the bridge. Since no trains were due for a while, they sat on the viewing deck to have lunch. The boy was entranced with the beauty of the ships docked on the port. Just then, both of them were drawn back by the shrieking of a train whistle. It was a reminder that the train would be rushing across the bridge in a few minutes. John leapt, running to the control room to pull the enormous lever that controlled the bridge. Just as he looked up the river, he saw a sight that almost froze his blood.
The son who had followed him tripped and fell. And his legs were caught between the main gears. John knew if he pulled the lever, the gears would grind his son amid tons of steel. He wanted to quickly rush down on a rope and pull the son, but the 400 people on the incoming train would not make it. What would John do? This was his only son. He was a father. He knew what he was supposed to do. So he buried his head, pulled down the lever, and he lifted his tear-smashed face as the train flashed and roared across. He saw people reading newspapers, drinking coffee, little children enjoying ice cream and the conductor looking at his wristwatch.
For God So Loved You
John had just sacrificed his son for these people. Yet nobody seemed bothered. We are the people in the train, and God is the man who sacrificed His son (John 3:16). He chose us even when we were not deserving of His love. This is how God demonstrated His love toward us. God is a relentless lover, and He is always pursuing us. Therefore, it is a lie to think that God’s love rises and falls based on our good and bad days. There was nothing in us that prompted God to set His love on us (Galatians 2:20). How then should we respond to the love of God for us?
Our Response
The understanding of the love of God towards us should lead us to rest in Him. We can rest in him knowing that His love is not something we have earned, and it is not something we can lose. Nothing can pluck us out of His hands (John 10:28). We can respond to the love of God by loving others in the way that He has loved us. The more we recognize the price Jesus paid for us and how gracious God has been to us, the more we should desire to share the gift of the love of God with others. The love of Jesus is a love that we will never lose.
King James Version (KJV)
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
New International Version (NIV)
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”
New American Bible (NASB)
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The Living Bible (TLB)
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”