Imperfect And Loved

Tash Brown, Australia

"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God." – Romans 5:6-11 NLT

devotional

The last two years have been a process of God revealing my heart, layer by layer – like Shrek, or an onion. COVID, as I am sure it has for many, has stripped back the way I was so used to living and enjoying life. My identity was shaken, and I was confronted by how tightly I held onto an idea of ‘who I should be’ rather than ‘who God tells me I am’. It is exhausting living under the self-applied pressure of perfectionism and expectations, rather than living in the freedom of God’s truth. I still have a long way to go but would like to share a little of what I’ve learnt so far.

reflection questions

• What does it mean to be an ‘especially good’ or ‘upright’ person? Is this where I can get my value from?

• What might prevent me from trusting that I have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ?

• What are some truths in this passage? E.g. the truth – we are utterly helpless and sinful without God, the truth – our value and worth were settled on the cross when Jesus died for us (even at our worst!) and the truth – through Christ we can be friends of God

• What are some things you can do to help you hold onto these truths? Can you think of some scriptures which encourage these practicals?