“If our God is for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:31
This verse is short, sweet, and strong. It holds so much power and so much faith in it’s simple message. If God is for us, who can be against us? Maybe it sounds cliché, maybe it’s lost a little bit of its power when you read it, but let’s revisit just how deep this really goes.
Imagine if you entered an art competition, but you’re not all that good at painting. You probably don’t have much chance at winning. Now imagine you were able to get Leonardo DaVinci (yes, he’s dead, but go along with it) to help you with your entry. Do you think you’d have a little bit better chance? What if he agreed to just go ahead and do the painting for you, but give you credit, would you have an even better chance? You might think I’m saying that having God on your side is like having DaVinci do your painting for you, but not quite.
Having God on your side would be like having no artistic ability whatsoever, having no one to help you, entering a very bad painting, and winning anyways because the judge is your Father and he chose you to win no matter what. You may think that doesn’t seem fair, of course, it’s in your favor so you wouldn’t be complaining, but still it isn’t technically fair.
That’s the whole point. Having God on your side isn’t fair. Through Christ, we don’t have to check every box or follow every rule perfectly in order to have salvation. Through Christ, we have salvation simply by believing. It’s not about having a painting that could win the prize on its own merits, it’s about entering the competition knowing that no matter what, you win.
Christ has delivered the victory to us. It has already been won. He died on the cross for our sins and defeated Satan once and for all. Death has no power over him and sin has no hold on him. He lived perfectly and became the sacrifice for us so that we wouldn’t have to, so that we could be forgiven for our sins, so that we could win the prize even though we didn’t deserve it.
No, it’s not fair. It’s grace. He gave us a gift that we didn’t deserve. He offered us forgiveness when we had done nothing to earn that forgiveness. That’s mercy. By his grace, mercy, and love, we have been named the champion. We have been given the prize. It doesn’t matter how strong the competition is, the decision has already been made before we ever began to paint.
That’s what it’s like to have God on your side.
Prayer:
Father,
Thank you for being on my side. Thank you for the power that comes with that. Thank you for your victory over sin and death through Christ on the cross, and for sharing that victory with me even though I don’t deserve it.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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