The Glories of His Righteousness and Wonders of His Love
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”—Romans 5:6 (NIV)
How are you doing today . . . you know, the day after? Did you get what you had hoped for? Were you let down by something you didn’t receive? Or were you given a gift you have no earthly intention of ever using? Is there a sense of longing for a moment that didn’t materialize or someone you weren’t able to spend more time with?
Was it an imperfect Christmas?
I think all of us can answer in the affirmative to some degree. After all, we’re surrounded by imperfection, and despite our best efforts, that doesn’t really change for one special day on the calendar. But take heart! Because there’s one more gift that’s waiting for you (for us), and it’s what we can rightly call the “perfect gift,” because it’s been given to us by a perfect God.
Look how the apostle Paul unwraps this gift for us in the passage above in his letter to the church in Rome. He starts by telling us this gift came “at just the right time.” In other words, there was a deliberate timing involved with this gift, and the timing was “right.” It wasn’t late, it wasn’t too early, but it came at the perfect time. According to who? According to God, who alone can determine what’s truly best and right because He alone knows all things.
Moreover, the timing of this gift was perfect because it came “when we were still powerless,” that is, when it was clear we were incapable of helping ourselves. You see, this particular gift must be accepted under a certain condition and that condition is to understand one’s dependency upon it. Unless you see your need for this gift, you really can’t appreciate or receive it.
So what’s this gift? Paul reveals, “Christ died for the ungodly.” The perfect gift is Christ, who willingly gave His life on the cross for the ungodly. Previously in Romans, Paul established that everyone falls into the ungodly category, because all are infected by sin. This means this gift is for absolutely everyone!
Whether someone admits or not, this is the one gift they need above all other gifts, because it’s the only thing that can fix a person’s deepest issue and problem: their sinful guilt before God. When that gets reconciled, everything else in life becomes possible through the resources of God. Christ is this gift, and He not only meets this need, but He meets it perfectly.
As the perfect Son of God, He’s “right” with God, He’s righteous, and His righteousness is transferred to all those who receive Him in faith. They are made just, or justified, through the righteousness of Christ! From God’s perspective, we’re no longer ungodly deserving of punishment, but we’re as perfectly sinless as His own Son. Now that’s a perfect gift . . . a gift that makes us perfect before God!
So no, maybe we didn’t get everything on our Christmas wish list. But when we stop and consider the perfect gift that God, Himself, has given to us, it has the power to change our perspective and fill us with praise.
“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”—Romans 5:9 (NIV)
Pause: What’s the perfect gift, and what are some factors that make it so perfect?
Practice: Consider how focusing on this gift can change your ongoing perspective.
Pray: Dear God, thank You for the indescribable gift of Your Son who makes us perfect in Your eyes. Help us to always be mindful and thankful for this great gift that’s been given to us and which can never be taken away! Let it define our day, our year, and our lives. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!