What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32 NET)
Growing up in a Christian home, I couldn’t figure out what to do with all those amazing promises and miracles in the Bible. They all materialized to people of faith back then, but no one I knew had ever seen anything remotely like that in their lives. It even made me wonder why God blessed those early Christians so much, but stopped blessing us. Was He unfair?
But these two verses say it all. If God reached so low to rescue us by sacrificing the life of His own Son to be punished for sins He never committed, doesn’t that say something powerful about what kind of God He is? Wouldn’t that give us a clue that He has an amazing love that no one on this earth could ever match? Which one of us would be willing to send our own sweet and innocent child to be tortured and killed to spare the life of an unworthy criminal? But God has done that for us on an epic scale. And because Jesus so freely gave His sinless life, He was raised again with even greater power and authority than before. Now, He gives us His authority to use with His blessing!
God has given us the unthinkable. We have a reprieve, a chance to truly live in oneness with God in His Kingdom. We don’t deserve it, but His grace and mercy offers it. All He asks is that we submit to Him as our Lord in humility and gratitude. What He asks us to give is nothing compared to what He has given us.
And now He wonders, why do we doubt Him? If He gave us such a precious treasure, won’t He freely also give us all things? How about His promises to set us free from the bondage of depression, or financial ruin? How about the promises to give us favor and victory over destruction in our families? Every promise (like we state every day) is meant for us to believe in, because it’s meant for us to see materialize in very tangible ways.
The reason why many good Christians don’t see the miracles of the first century believers, is because they don’t have the determination to live in a first century faith. Insisting that the Word of God is true, even when doubts try to crowd in, is part of that faith. Do you battle with the fear that you can’t search for a better job? If you truly knew how loving your Father was, you would be able to push that fear aside and take the risk by faith to find a great job for His honor and glory. There is no need to dither and waver between decisions. Though you may need to ask for counsel or pray for specific guidance, the foundation of our faith needs to be firm: if God is for me, who can be against me?
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