A Reason to Rejoice
Since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God—all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God. Romans 5:10-11
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This passage reminds us that our reason to rejoice is not only that our future salvation is assured, that we’ve been delivered from eternal punishment, or that Christ died for us while we were still his enemies. Certainly that would be reason enough! But we also rejoice because in the present, right here on earth in the midst of where we are—today, tomorrow, and all the days we are alive—we can enjoy a wonderful new relationship with our heavenly Father. This is not a distant relationship but a close, intimate one. We are blessed with this intimacy because the finished work of Christ removed every barrier standing between the Lord and us and restored our relationship so that we could be friends of God. We did nothing to accomplish this; we receive it because of what Christ did. Think of it—friends of the Almighty! If nothing else is going well today, we still have great reason to rejoice.
Prayer:
I rejoice in my relationship with you, Father—all because of what Jesus Christ has done for me. Having an intimate relationship with Jesus, the friend of sinners, allows me to have an eternal perspective about everything else that happens to me today. I praise you for the joy such a friendship brings.
Quotes:
THE WHOLE MEANING OF PRAYER IS THAT WE MAY KNOW GOD.
Oswald Chambers (1874–1917)
The One Year Bible Readings for today are: 1 Chronicles 28:1–29:30; Romans 5:6-21; Psalm 15:1-5 and Proverbs 19:18-19.
