Reconciliation

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 5:6-11

Think of the relationship between love and knowledge. Whenever we love something, we want to know everything about it. When we love a place, we want to explore every inch of it. When we love a person, we want to know every detail of his or her life. We want to know what he or she likes, how the person spends their time, where they grew up, who their friends are, and what they believe. But some of us want to be loved without allowing ourselves to be known. We are afraid that we won’t be loved if we are truly known.

We don’t need to worry about that with God. God has revealed His character to us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.

Through creation, Scripture, and Christ, God reveals His character and His love. Because God loves us in spite of our imperfections, we can safely confess our faults to Him. With God, we need not fear being known. That’s why to know God is to love God.

There is no greater joy than to know that God loves us.

Our Daily Bread – October 26, 2013