God has been speaking to me clearly. Maybe He is speaking to you too, as we look at a few questions raised by Romans 5:1-11.
Do we have that assurance that we are justified not because of anything we have done? We never can be justified that way, Ephesians2:8-9. We can only be justified by our faith in the Lord Jesus, verse 1.
If we have that faith and justification do we know His peace? If not, why not?
We have access to the Lord Almighty, verse 2, but how keen are we to avail ourselves of the Almighty and the resources at our disposal? Or do we try and muddle through on our own.
Do we rejoice in our sufferings and see them as an opportunity for character building, verses 3-4? Those personalities that rub against us are like sandpaper smoothing off the rough edges.
See how different God’s love is to our love. Thankfully He doesn’t treat us as we deserve, verses 6 and 8. Do we show that same love to those around us at home, work, school, or in our community etc? Do people see that the love of God has been poured into our hearts, verse 5? Or is ours a conditional love only given to those who please us, who respond to us? Do we only do things for others because of what we can get in return?
How much evidence of rejoicing and praise to God is there in our lives and do others see that, verse 11? Or do they see us whining and complaining about our lot? Or just stoic resignation? Where is our joy?
As I look at these questions from this passage of Romans, we can see suffering as I obstacles or opportunities to rejoice and prove God’s power at work in us. We can waste those character building experiences by whining, grumbling or giving up. Or we can learn from them. Which will you choose to do this week?
Bible verses from The new American Standard Version
Please visit these related blogs
Unlocking a bible passage -part 1