If you knew that someone really important was coming to your house, it’s very likely that you would get to work. You’d want the house to be spotless. You would carefully consider your outfit and be sure you were freshly showered with hair just so. What you wore to clean out the gardens will not work for this guest. You put on an air of togetherness. In your heart, you know it’s a façade. But for the short time the visitor is at your house, the game is on.

Today’s verse is another one of those that is completely upside down by our thinking. “While we were still sinners.” If Jesus were that guest coming to your home, (which he does every day without ringing a doorbell.), you would likely take all that cleaning and all that personal prep to the extreme. “I don’t want him to see me like this!”, you might think. And then there he is…early. Your house is still a mess, your hair looks like you’ve never met a comb, and you’re still wearing the grubs that are saved for cleaning. But your concern goes deeper. You know your heart and you know your sin. You know that there isn’t enough cleaning to get rid of the sin and guilt you carry. You are not at all ready. But Jesus is. And there he is, at your door, smiling with open arms.

That’s us. “While we were still sinners.” That’s us each and every day. We’ll never have a day where sin doesn’t impact our lives. Out of gratitude for all God has done, we try. We work at being kinder, more patient, more generous, more reflective of his grace. And every day we could make an embarrassing list of ways we fall short. And that’s only the things we remember. It makes no sense that Jesus would love us. And yet, not only does he love us, “Christ died for us.” What God sees when he looks at us is hard to imagine because what he sees, because of Jesus, is perfection. He sees you and I as redeemed (bought back) children of his. He didn’t wait for us to “get it right” or “to do better.” Nope. “While we were still sinners.” That kind of love for us is hard to grasp but it’s true. His love is only dependent on him and not dependent on anything we might try to do. He chose to demonstrate his love by his death on the cross. His death was much more than a tragic event. It was the day that God’s Son, Jesus, took all the sins of all the world on himself and paid for all that unimaginable guilt by his death.

So, what do we do now? We can begin with a thankful heart that recognizes that you and I bring nothing of value to God and yet he treasures us as his own dear children. We can continue to grow in faith by being in the Word. We can seek to reflect and share God’s grace to others out of gratitude for what he has done for us. “God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Thank you, Lord.