Jesus' Faithfulness Gives Us Peace with God
Daily Scripture
Romans 5:1-10
1 Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness [or through faith], we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the hope of God’s glory. 3 But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 5 This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 While we were still weak, at the right moment, Christ died for ungodly people. 7 It isn’t often that someone will die for a righteous person, though maybe someone might dare to die for a good person. 8 But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 9 So, now that we have been made righteous by his blood, we can be even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. 10 If we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son while we were still enemies, now that we have been reconciled, how much more certain is it that we will be saved by his life?
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Why honor and celebrate Jesus’ birth? To the Christians in Rome, the apostle Paul spelled out that the events of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection gave us peace with God. That reconciliation is much more than “fire insurance”—avoiding hell while living miserably. It opens us to a new quality of peace-filled life here and now. In this new life, we even see problems differently, knowing that “trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (verses 3-4).
- Paul later filled out “peace with God,” telling Timothy, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I’m the biggest sinner of all. But this is why I was shown mercy, so that Christ Jesus could show his endless patience to me first of all” (1 Timothy 1:15-16). Paul knew he didn’t deserve God’s peace, yet Christ offered it freely. How have you (or could you) open your heart to Jesus’ inner peace? What barriers—guilt, shame, doubt, or busyness—keep you from receiving it?
- Paul trained as a rabbi. Rabbis used a rhetorical form known in Hebrew as qal wahomer, meaning “How much more.” In verse 10, Paul used that form to say, in effect, “If Christ was willing to die for us while we were still his enemies, how much more certain can we be that he will stay with us and support us now that we’re reconciled?” In what ways do you depend on Christ’s presence with you every day? How might it lighten your spiritual load to count on that presence more completely?
Prayer
A daily reminder from Pastor Hamilton: Our hope is that tonight or tomorrow morning, continuing through Christmas, each of you will, either in the morning or at night, take the time to write down three things you are thankful for. You might write these in the form of a thank you letter to God or simply write down a journal entry.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for your willingness to die for me before I was even born, and to draw my heart to you. And thank you for staying with me to guide me into your peace-filled life. Amen.
GPS Insights
Darren Lippe
Darren Lippe, who serves as a Couples Small Group co-leader and Men's Group Leader, while volunteering in a variety of other capacities at Resurrection, wrote today’s Insights. He and his wife, Doris, first met in a Resurrection Single Adult Sunday School class in 1997 and were married in what is now the Student Center. They are empty nesters with 2 college-aged sons, Matthew and Jacob.
During last weekend’s sermon, Pastor Adam referenced the statue at the United Nations building, “Let us Beat our Swords into Ploughshares” by the Russian sculptor, Yevgeny Vuchetich. The statue was a gift to the U.N. by the U.S.S.R. in 1959. 
In High School, I participated in a Model United Nations program in which students imitated the proceedings at the U.N. & spent several weeks researching the interests & ideals of their randomly assigned country. My Senior year, I was a delegate for the Soviet Union & referenced this statue in my opening speech. (Since this was at the height of the Cold War in the early 1980’s, representing the U.S.S.R. wasn’t an easy gig.)
Aside: President Reagan’s favorite joke about Communism. In Russia, you have to wait 10 years for delivery of a new car. The customer asks, “Will it be in the morning or afternoon?” The salesman says, “What difference does it make? It’s 10 years from now.” The customer replies, “Well, the plumber is coming in the morning.”
Forty years later, this statue still resonates with me. Let’s consider 2 themes:
In my speech, I emphasized the lofty ideals the sculpture conveyed, while trying to get off the podium before anyone brought up the awkward contradictions it represented:
- The sculptor, Vuchetich, was the founder of the style “Soviet Classicism,” & a devotee of Stalin. Most of his other works glorified war & implored Russian citizens to valiantly fight for the Motherland.
- Russia had invaded Afghanistan just a few years earlier, so the Soviet government was hardly living up to the monument’s dreams.
- The Russian territory was infamous for its centuries of persecution & pogroms aimed at the Jewish people, so it was rather odd to quote Isaiah 2:6 from the Hebrew Bible.
Upon reflection, though, I would contend that the context of this statue highlights the human condition. We, too, strive to live out lofty ideals & often fall short. We set a goal to do the right thing, say the right thing, & think the right thing each morning & recognize by the end of the day that we really struggled. Fortunately, as Paul notes in today’s passage, God still loves us even in the midst of our stumbles. Each morning, though, we once again renew our hope to be a good & faithful servant.
Aside: I like the old Preacher’s prayer: “Lord, I have been perfect today. I was patient & kind to everyone I met. I made sure that everything I did was according to Your will. Now, help me maintain this streak of excellence as I get out of bed & take my morning shower. Amen.”
The second theme that stands out to me is that the sculpture doesn’t bury the sword in the ground or throw it into a river. The statue echoes Isaiah & the sword is transformed from a weapon of violence into a tool of productivity.
While we may no longer carry literal swords, we often do attack people with sharp words, sharp temper, or even carry sharp resentments. But what if we converted our “swords” into a plough that encourages patience, fosters reconciliation, & aims for peace in all of our daily interactions?
Of course, this message isn’t just for nations & governments. It is also for dining rooms, work breakrooms, & even online. Perhaps today is a good day to try to be quiet blacksmiths of grace–reshaping our harsh “weapons” of violence into “ploughs” of peace.
Now if you’ll excuse me, all this global relations thinking has me desiring some food with an intercontinental flair: “Doris, tonight we dine at the International House of Pancakes.”
For more on the history and details of the sculpture, visit https://www.un.org/ungifts/let-us-beat-swords-ploughshares#:~:text=The%20sculpture%20was%20gifted%20to,behalf%20of%20the%20United%20Nations
