How God Loves You : Romans 3:21-6 : Part 5

In this series about How God Loves Us, we have looked at three examples of God’s unwarranted love. 

1. The thief in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables was not only offered kindness and unwarranted mercy by the priest but also riches that he did not deserve.
2. The Prodigal son realised when his money ran out how much he had lost due to his selfish nature, but his father showed him love and mercy by welcoming him back into the heart of his family and showering him with gifts.
3. The vineyard workers all carried out the work they were given to the best of their ability, so they were all paid the same. This is because God loves us all equally regardless of race, creed, sex, or ability. The last shall be first, and the first shall be last – this means we are all equal in God’s eyes.

St Paul

In his letter to the Romans 3:21-6, St Paul wrote, what could be argued, is the very heart of the gospel message, which is;  

• We were born into a broken world and so have not been able to live the glorious lives God had planned for us.
• God so loved the world he sent his son Jesus, whose death on the cross paid the price for all that was broken.
• Through faith in Jesus Christ and by following his examples, to the best of our ability, we can receive the gift of God’s unwarranted grace and joy in the hope of life everlasting.

Reflection on How God Loves You:

If you find the reading from Romans hard to believe, or wonder if God really does love you, then why not try hoping that it could be true?
Why not live in the hope of this being the reason for our existence?
After all, what have you got to lose by doing so?

As we gradually introduce Christ’s teachings into our lives, the Holy Spirit will slowly begin to work within us. Then unwittingly accumulated mental distortions, built up throughout our lives, can slowly melt away until we ultimately become the person God intended, and we discover our real potential and identity.

This is because God made us for himself, and we will never find true joy and peace until we come to rest in Him.

The three articles below in this series offer examples of the ways in which God loves us:

Part 2 Les Miserables; Part 3 The Prodigal Son; Part 4 The Workers in the Vineyard