But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8
As followers of Christ, our calling is to reflect Him in everything we say and do. This means modeling His forgiveness rather than holding onto bitterness, even when letting go of our bitterness feels tremendously difficult. God’s forgiveness to us is unlike any forgiveness that can be experienced on this earth. You see, our human nature is to forgive after someone apologizes to us. God, on the other hand, extended forgiveness and reconciliation to us even before we turned to Him and repented of our sins. This is the kind of forgiveness followers of Christ are called to demonstrate to those around us as we make peace, pointing the watching world to our Heavenly Father’s love and forgiveness.
The apostle Paul wrote about God’s effort to forgive us even before we turned away from our sins in Romans 5. In this passage of Scripture, he wrote these words, “Most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good” (verse 7). Most, if not all, readers would agree with Paul’s statement. Indeed, most people would not voluntarily die for anyone, even for someone who is a seemingly very good person by the world’s standards. This is not the way God operates, Paul explained, as he continued his teaching with these beautiful words, “But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (verse 8). Take a moment to let this great truth sink in. While we were sinners, separated from God and living for ourselves, God sent Jesus to rescue us. We had not turned back to Him. We had not apologized for or repented of our sins. Even still, God sent Jesus at just the right time to die on the cross and rise from the grave, defeating sin and death. Why does He offer His forgiveness so graciously? It is because of “His great love for us,” Paul writes. What great love that He has for us that He set out a plan to forgive and rescue us when we were lost in sin! There is no greater love that we could ever, ever experience than this.
God’s forgiveness serves as an example for us. We, too, are called to forgive first. We do not need to wait for an apology. We can choose to forgive, seeking peace instead of holding on to bitterness. If we struggle to forgive, we need only to look to our Heavenly Father, who stopped at nothing to forgive us when we were lost in our sin. Let’s model the extravagant forgiveness of our Heavenly Father to everyone around us.
Commit today to forgiving without even needing an apology. The next time someone has hurt you, do not wait for an apology to extend forgiveness. Choose to forgive and seek peace in the moment, remembering just how extravagantly God has forgiven you.
“God, as I consider Your remarkable forgiveness, I praise You because…”
Romans 5:1-11
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace[a] with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
©2026 Sagebrush Church
