September 18

Made Right With God

"Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith, into the grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1-2

When we come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, we are showered with blessings. When we are made right with God, we are no longer separated from his presence, but we can now come to him boldly. This standing we now have brings us further blessings, and it results in peace with God. God is on our side; he is rooting for us. We are no longer working against him, but for him. Then we find ourselves standing in God's grace and what a wonderful place that is to be! I love the way the Message translates this verse: "We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand - out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise." Truly, when we make the choice to serve God and give ourselves wholly to him, we find he was waiting for us all along, just like the father of the prodigal son who was watching and hoping his son would return. When he spotted his son a long way off, he didn't wait with his hands on his hips, but ran to meet him! That is the kind of Father we have: one who longed for us to turn to him and when we did, he ran to embrace us. What mercy, what abounding grace that is! The result can be nothing but rejoicing and praising God for the glorious hope he has put in our heart, that we might live and reign with him forevermore!

Father, how thankful we are that you loved us before we loved you! Your unconditional love reached out to us when we had no clue who you were. Your grace poured into our lives and has given us hope and a song to sing. May we praise your name forevermore! Amen