A Little Too Much - July 24, 2016

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Romans 5:1-11

Throughout the summer series, we have been talking about what it means to be saved by grace through faith. We've looked at who needs saving and why, and who is there to help us. In today's message, we'll see that there are days when we are out by the sinking boat, struggling to tread water. And sometimes in life it feels like all we do is tread water and we never get to enjoy the good stuff in life. But the reality is, while treading water is part of our reality, it's not the end game. We aren't designed to tread water, we are designed to flourish and swim and play and explore. But to

get to that point of freedom, we first have to tread water. We have to build up strength and we

have to learn the skills for swimming.

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access[b] to this grace in which we stand; and we[c] boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we[d] also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 9 Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.[e] 10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

One of the familiar verses from the first part of this reading is: suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. Somehow when I hear this verse, the first thing that pops into my head is, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Which is not really a good thing, because I do not like that phrase. Anyone else hate that adage? It causes an almost visceral reaction in my body. I naturally roll my eyes and I have a sense of discomfort that emerges. When I hear it said, it seems as if someone is saying, "You should be thankful for your suffering, because you'll be better for it in the long run." And all I want to say is, "To heck with being better in the long run, I'd really rather not suffer now!" And for those who have suffered traumatic losses or changes in their lives, the saying feels downright insulting. As if we should in some way be ok with the death of someone we love, or life-changing illness. Those things are not ok. So let's not pretend they are. It may not kill us, and it may make us stronger, but that certainly doesn't mean we have to be ok with it, whatever it is.
To be clear, when we read, "suffering produces perseverance and perseverance produces character and character produces hope" we are NOT saying that we should seek after suffering so that we might build strong character and have hope. But, as much as we might not want to hear, "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger," the fact of the matter is, it's true. The truth is that if we come back from battling the darkness of grief or depression or failure we come back stronger. Why? Because the way out of the depths of darkness is through perseverance, endurance, determination, and sometimes a hail Mary type of miracle.
One of the truths of my life is that I have battled depression. I have had different bouts in my adulthood, sometimes lasting days and sometimes lasting months. And if you haven't struggled with depression, let me just say it takes it out of you. It feels like there is a weight upon you and it's tough to get out of bed, it takes tremendous effort to get to work, and chores and "extra" things are pretty impossible. It's a battle to just get the basics done each day. And sometimes the biggest victory is simply making it through the day. I've hit the bottom of the pit of darkness a couple of times. It's cold and lonely and miserable. And it feels like there is no way up and out. It truly feels like a hopeless place. In the middle of my struggle, I have had one friend who has stood by my side each time. She calls to check in each day and reminds me that it will get better. There is no timeline, there is not set end date, but it does get better. At this point, fortunately and unfortunately, I have fought through depression enough to know she's right. It does get better. Every time, it gets better and the depression lifts. And though it felt like death in the middle of it, it didn't win and I am better for it. I do have a stronger sense of hope because I have suffered and battled and won; and if I did it once, I can do it again. I know that God will answer in the future because God has answered in the past. Now, does that mean I'm clamoring for another bought of depression so I can suffer some more and have greater character and greater hope? Not at all. Do I think God wants me to suffer in order to have hope? Not in the least. But do I think that God is capable of my using times of darkness and trial to grow me? Absolutely. And the fact that God has been faithful to me, over and over again, gives me hope. God has been consistent and that allows me to trust that God can and will help me again.
Because of all that, I am able to seek God and praise God during the hard times in life. It may not come as readily as when all things are going well for me, but it still comes. I know that God is working in the midst of the darkness and that things do get better. The truth is that we are invited to praise God in the midst of our trials because there is hope for what's to come and what God can and will do in our lives. But the heart of this passage is not about our struggles. The heart of this passage is about what God has done for us and why we praise God in the first place.
The first couple of weeks in our time with Romans, we heard Paul's message that we are all sinners in need of saving. Last week we finally heard that there is hope for us, that there is a Savior who is willing to rescue us and pay the full price of our sin. When we begin to understand the gift of grace and forgiveness that we receive through Jesus Christ, we want to celebrate. We want to praise God. Our debt has been paid. We have been forgiven. We have been invited to live free lives and leave the guilt of our past behind us.
Greater than that, which is pretty amazing in and of itself, is that God's gift is offered before we ever get it right. God's love and grace are not conditional waiting for us to be good or righteous or successful. God's gift is offered in the midst of our selfishness, our inability, our indifference, and our disobedience. Now, if you've been in the church for long, that isn't really news to you. You know that God saves the sinners and the lost and so we hear that Christ saved us while we were yet sinners and we go, "yep, that's right." We lose sight of what an incredible gift that is. So, let's pause and think of it this way:
Think about one of the people you love the most in this world. Maybe a friend? Or a spouse? Or a parent? Or a child? What would you do for them? Anything, right? What if they were in danger? What if you had the chance to spare their life and save them? You'd do it. Most of you have met or at least seen our kids...Ruth and Steven, and there isn't anything we wouldn't do for them. And if someone or something threatened to take their life, I wouldn't hesitate in offering mine instead so that they would be spared. I would give anything to protect them or to help them. And I imagine you would do the same for the ones you truly love.
Now, think of someone you simply can't stand. What do you wish for them? Certainly not the best life has to offer us. Some of us have even wished that they might die. We'll hardly give them the time of day, let alone the shirt off our back and definitely not our life. Not only do we not care about them, but we can't stand them. We're inclined to say, "If you get in trouble, don't come crying to me." Human nature says we draw close to what is good and shun what we deem as bad. And for the ones who have scorned us, betrayed us, and abused us, we generally hope that they will get what's coming to them.
In essence, that's the point of what Paul is saying in verse 7. We might give up our life for someone we love, the best ones, but most of us are completely unwilling to die for the worst. And yet, that's what Jesus did. He died for the ones who betrayed him, the ones who turned their back on him, the ones who lied about him, the ones who were indifferent to him. He didn't choose a select few to save. He chose all of us. He chose to save us despite ourselves and despite our sins. While we were yet sinners. Not once we repented. Not once we chose to stop having the affair, or after we returned the money we stole, or after we confessed and told the truth. Not after we were humbled, not after we gave to the poor, but before. Before we chose him. Before we chose righteousness. Before we chose to serve the other, Christ died for us. It's not because of what we've done to be so good, but instead, simply because of who he is. He chose us. And, in choosing us, we are forgiven. We are freed to live the life we were meant to lead.
Being saved in the midst of our sin is pretty incredible. In the thick of our sinfulness and disobedience, when most people would walk away from us, Jesus walked toward us. He offered us love and understanding, compassion and forgiveness.
And having that gift of grace, the knowledge that we are loved, chosen and saved, can often be a fountain of hope in the midst of our struggles. Because even when the world is against us and we can't find a job or we are fighting with our spouse or our kids don't respect us, or we've lost our savings, or buried a friend...when everything seems to be down the tubes, God's love is still there.
Now, it's not uncommon for us to associate our earthly suffering with God's punishment or neglect...but if we look at the scriptures, that's not true. God loves us and chooses us when we are desperately stuck and selfish...and if God has done that through Christ, offering the greatest sacrifice of all, then certainly God continues to love us, even in the midst of our struggles and our failings. God journeys with us through the tough stuff. We'd much rather be helivac'd out...but that's not the nature of God either. Instead, God enters into our story to help affirm and encourage us. When we would desperately like to give up, God says, I have plans for you...there's a future up there. God doesn't deny our pain but says, I know, it hurts...I've been betrayed, I've been beaten down, I've been abused, I've been lied about...it's not pretty and it's not easy, but there is something much better on the other side, so trust me. Hold onto my love and we'll get through this together.