My kids have recently discovered MacGyver on Netflix. You know the guy with the outrageous mullet, wry sense of humor and the most frequently deployed Swiss-Army knife in the history of man. They (we) enjoy watching how he creatively works himself out of jams by using such a basic tool as his little knife.
There are some parallels for Christians. We are constantly getting into jams as we live in this sin cursed world and contribute to it with our own sinfulness. How do we deal with these problems? What is our recourse when we are unjustly accused, rejected, feeling alone, uncertain or unloved? When the circumstances of love play the painful harmony with our sinful hearts, where do we turn? What is the solace? How do you handle this?
As a Christian I want a silver bullet. I want the McGyver tool that fixes the problem.
I think God gives us that. In Romans 8 we read:
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8.32)
This comes in a chapter in which there is acknowledgement and anticipation of difficulty. And when I say difficulty I don’t mean spiritual hang-nails, I’m talking about despots, demons, and death (among other things). This verse, anchored in the truth of the gospel, is intended to be constantly deployed in our assault against personal sin and forgetfulness of the gospel. It is intended to transform us by dying our thinking into this ultra-personal gospel hue.
The fact of the matter is this Christian, because of what God has done in Christ, he is for you!
Paul is employing the ‘greater-to-lesser’ principle here.
Do you need comfort? Remember that he has ultimately comforted you in and through the giving of Jesus for you…how will he not comfort you in these things?
Do you quietly doubt his love? Scurry over to the cross and see the Son of God crucified for your sins. God has showcased and proven his love for you in the most dramatic and powerful manner. He has given up his own Son for you!
I have found myself quoting this verse over and over again to myself and in sermons. I can’t get it out of my head, and it must stay there! It is in fact the silver bullet that reminds me of the gospel!
Remind yourself and others of this truth: God has delivered up his son for his people.
As Martin Luther once said, “you have to go backward before you can go forward.” All of our blessings of comfort and acceptance and hope and joy…they are all tethered to fact! Let the Father’s giving of the Son eradicate your cries for more proof of his love for you. And let it inform and transform you to delight with contentment in the jaw-dropping truth of the gospel.