4th August 2023

Sacrificial love

I am so concerned about my people, who are members of my own race. I am ready to be cursed, if that would help them. I am even willing to be separated from Christ.
Romans 9:3 (NIRV)

Paul, when writing to the church in Rome, wrote of how concerned he was for his own people who had not accepted the message of Jesus. His anguish for them was so great that he wrote that, if it were possible, he would sacrifice his eternal future for them. There’s a lesson in that for us: how much would we be willing to sacrifice for the spiritual good of others?

But that’s not what I want to dwell on here. Although Paul is agonising about the Jewish  people, those of his own race who have not accepted Jesus, our situation is quite different. Many of you reading this devotional will not be Jewish and will have already accepted the good news of Jesus, yet Romans 9:3 still applies to you. While Paul was willing to give up his life for the spiritual salvation of his fellow Jews, we do have someone who has given his life for our salvation. Long before we came into existence, and while knowing that we would sin and turn against him, Jesus came and gave his life so that our wonderful spiritual future would be assured. Just as Paul was willing to die a substitutionary death for the life of others, Jesus has already done that for us. Jesus became the propitiation for our sins, and not ours alone, but for everyone who has ever lived, or ever will live. So although Paul could not die to secure the salvation of the Jews in Rome, he didn’t have to, as everyone is included in the love of Jesus: you, me, the Jewish people in Rome in the first century, and everyone else. 

Paul writes of how he would be willing to be separated from Christ if it would help his fellow Jews, yet only a few verses before (Romans 8:38-39) Paul tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. So while the love of Jesus in us may lead us to have the concern Paul did for others, the reality is that the good news of Jesus’ sacrifice for humanity applies to everyone. All are included in the saving work of Jesus. We may feel despair at the harm people are bringing upon themselves by living lives contrary to the wishes of God, but we know that ultimately they will know the greatness and love of Jesus, and realise the wonderful truth of what he has done for them. 

When we read through the book of Romans, we cannot fail to see the reality of how we have been saved from the consequences of sin and are now free to live for God. In that context we see Paul’s great love and concern for his fellow Jews, while at the same time knowing their ultimate future is secure because of the love of God expressed through the sacrifice of Jesus. 

Prayer
Father, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who reveals the wonderful truth to us. Thank you for your love flowing through us, leading us to empathise with the plight of others and long for them to come into relationship with you. Thank you that whoever you place on our hearts as someone in need of experiencing your love, Jesus has already gone ahead of us and replaced their brokenness with wholeness and a wonderful future. In his name we pray. Amen.

Study by Anthony Dady

About the writer:
Anthony Dady is a minister in Grace Communion International and is the Regional Pastor for Wales, the Midlands, and Northern England.

Local congregation:
GCI Northampton
Ecton Village Hall
78A High Street
Ecton
Northampton
NN6 0QB

Local congregational contact:
Maggie Mitchell
Email:  maggie.mitchell@btinternet.com

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church