Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
Romans 5:1-2
Our smashing deliverance over our darkness is something God decided on, not us. Because of our feeble faith, and our meager trust is transformed into a state of peace. Our struggling faith elevates us. Often it is really pathetic, malformed, ugly, and oh, so small. But Jesus has been working “behind the scenes.” He delights in escorting us, His adopted brothers and sisters, into victory, with a Savior’s pride. Trust me, there is no way we deserve this astonishing salvation, we didn’t earn this honor. By no means. Essentially, we are in a shattered heap.
It seems that everything is something, that He has done for us. The fact is Jesus far more than adequate. He has done things that very easily exceed the bare minimum. We stand, why? Because He makes us stand. And to be honest, everything, absolutely everything is something He has done.
If it was up to us, if we tried to make it happen, we would just sizzle out, and collapse in the darkness. We are totally lost. So many times, I’ve really tried. But my darkness truly dissolves any hope that I might have. I’m not only lost, I’m irrevocably lost. I have lied, cheated and hoped it would not matter. I am a colossal loser. A pile of brokenness. Why would His Son die, and than give me an inheritance to take on His righteousness? ( The Bible can be “bizarre” sometimes.)
There is nothing I can bring. I am much, much more evil than good. I bring nothing but being a complete moral disaster. I am a failure beyond any human redemption. I have completely given up any sort of chance for personal salvation.
What does Jesus do with “losers” like me? I will tell you what He does. He redeems us. He goes to the “slave market” and buys us, on the spot, right off the block! According to Romans, through our stumbling faith we are simply given that which we could barely hope for. Our meager faith gives us a billion and billions dollars of righteousness. We transition from a devastating poverty to being Bill Gates’ heir.
The shock of this will take a lifetime to absorb. We will try to adapt. We have moved from a pathetic state of slavery, to being a child to the richest king of the entire universe. It’s most unreal, like winning the Illinois lottery multiplied by a 1000.
Romans speaks of a new found confidence and joyousness that should come to those lifted out of the slave pit. Our faith in what Jesus did for us brings us into this incredibly magnificent state. The Book of Malachi describes the joy that calves of kicking up their hoofs on their release from the stall. The imagery makes a direct connection to us who have been released from the darkness.
Simply put, He has done something for us that is beyond a dream. The Parable of the Prodigal Son has now been “switched on.” It illuminates us fully and describes every person on this planet. We look at the parable and those 320 words take us apart, and then returns to instill life to us. This parable teaches every human being, of life’s realities. He has done everything, and we have done nothing. He now runs to us, and He will change us completely.
Broken Believers 