In the past few weeks I've had to face reality. I'm getting older. Last week I went to the doctor because I was limping around on a bad knee. I couldn't even straighten my leg out completely. The doctor examined it and pronounced his diagnosis: "You're getting old." He told me my knee was full of arthritis and to take some Aleve. (Thanks, Doc.) I've also come to realize that I can't do the things on my bike that I could do just five years ago. Ride 200 miles in a day? I can barely ride 50!
Facing reality can be difficult, but it's made easier when there's both a good and a bad side, rather than just the bad. In Romans 5 Paul forces us to face reality. He gives us some descriptions of ourselves that are not very flattering. "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 man, though for a good man 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." (Romans 5:6-8)
The three words that Paul uses to describe us are not very pleasant. Paul tells us that we are "powerless" to save ourselves. Why? Because we are "ungodly". Yes, by birth and nature we are "sinners" who deserve God's wrath and punishment. Not a pretty picture. In fact, it's a whole lot worse then hearing, "You're getting old."
But there's a lot of Good News there to soften the blow. Paul tells us that because Christ knew that we were powerless to save ourselves, He died for us. Paul reminds us that the reason God sent His Son to die for us is that He loves us. So although facing the reality about ourselves is painful, hearing the reality of God's love for us in Jesus Christ is a huge blessing.
The reality is that we can truly "rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." (Romans 5:11)
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