By Daniel Mayfield
God loves everyone on the planet. There is not a man or woman, no matter how wicked, whom God does not deeply love. The greatest evidence to this fact is that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16). God so loved the world. In John’s gospel, “the world” refers to the place of ignorance, sin, and darkness (John 1:10, 1:29, 3:19). All this is to say, God gave his greatest treasure, Jesus, to people who were full of ignorance, sin, and darkness. In other words, Jesus died for you and me. We really can’t fathom this depth of love.
Because of the magnitude of the work of God at calvary, I think we often look past what Christ might be doing right now—and we turn all of our attention to what he did 2,000 years ago. Granted, we can’t overemphasize the cross, for even Paul said he resolved to know nothing except Christ and him crucified. Nevertheless, beyond the cross, Jesus is doing something of overwhelming significance—even now.
Listen to this word: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10).
The point is, the death of Jesus allowed for us to be reconciled to God—even while being his enemies. But once we are reconciled to God, we are no longer enemies—we are members of his household. And Paul’s point is, if God would save you while you were an enemy, how much more will he save you when you’re reconciled to him? Paul says, “much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
So the chief point is this: Jesus died for his enemies, but he lives for the saints. That’s why he says we are "saved by his life.” The death he died, he died only once—but Jesus is living, daily, right now, on behalf of the saints. For those in Christ Jesus, could there be a greater encouragement? What might Jesus be doing for your eternity right now? Take heart and press on.
Daniel Mayfield is one of the speakers for our 2021 Youth Forum (October 9-10). Register now by clicking on the Youth Forum tab.
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