“If, by the transgression of one person, death
came to reign through that one, how much more
will those who receive the abundance of grace
and of this gift of justification come to reign in
life through the one person Jesus Christ. In
conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all, so through one
righteous act acquittal and life came to
all” (Romans 5:17-18).
This is our faith in a nutshell. Through Adam’s
sin, death came to reign over us. But through the
unconditional and unquenchable love of God
shown to us in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ,
and through his one righteous act on the cross,
our sins have been forgiven (acquittal) and the
life that was lost to us in Adam’s sin has been
given back to all of us even more abundantly. It
is as simple as that. What an incomparable gift!
As Paul tells us in the following chapter of his
Letter to the Romans, “For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus” (Rm. 6:23).
Through Adam we all became sinners. Through
his disobedience we have not only known
suffering and death, but we have also
contributed to the ongoing suffering and death in
the world. And yet, God’s love could not be
diminished. Indeed, as Paul tells us in Romans
5:20: “The law was brought in so that the
trespass might increase. But where sin increased,
grace increased all the more.” What does this
reveal to us about the nature of God? Does it not
argue that he really is love, and that his love is
unconquerable? He made us out of love. He
remains faithful to us, even though we are so
often unfaithful to him, out of love. Because he
loves us, he gave us intellect and free will to
come to know him and to choose to love him in
return. Are we not humbled to speechless awe by
such love?
Jesus tells us himself, “I came so that they might
have life and have it more abundantly” (Jn.
10:10). This love is in every sense of the word
“stunning” to us. To know that we are loved so
completely, so mercifully, so compassionately
loved, despite our sinfulness, stuns us back to
our senses. When we know Jesus as the living
expression of God’s love for us, how can we do
anything less than thank him by giving ourselves
in service to him? O, we are still sinners. We
must never forget that. But, knowing that God’s
love is unconditional and his mercy is active, we
can have the courage to turn to him for his
forgiveness when we fall short, confident that his
grace will abound more than our sins.
Lord, we are truly humbled by your generous and
life-giving love toward us in Jesus. Help us to
live up to the gift of your love and mercy by
becoming your true, good, and faithful servants in
our daily lives. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!
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