Romans 5:6-11 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (NIV)

While we were enemies of God, He stepped up and reconciled us to Himself. We were His enemies because of our sin, our inadequacy, our failure to live according to His righteous requirements. We were enemies because of our rejection of Him. But while we were His enemies, He sent His Son to die in our place, thereby reconciling us to Himself, making peace.

Something to take note of in this passage is the tense of the verbs: We have been justified, we have peace, we have obtained access, we have now been justified, we were reconciled. These verbs are either in the past or present tense, which means they have already taken place. Salvation is not something yet to be accomplished or finished. It is already done. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why we can rejoice even in suffering.

God’s grace is yours now, a present reality. You don’t have to finish the reconciliation. Christ already did it.  You can be glad when it is bad. Your suffering, whatever form it may take, leads you to the hope of sharing God’s glory. This hope is yours because of what Jesus has done in your place. It is NOT conditional on you living a good life. Jesus has already reconciled us to the Father, something the Holy Spirit constantly reminds us of through His Word.

Unfortunately, rather than causing rejoicing, suffering often has the opposite effect on people. Some see trials as something sent by God to spite them, so they turn away from Him. Some leave the church to get even with God. Others resort to despair and destructive living and even suicide. They don’t understand the comforting Gospel message presented so clearly in this passage. We have been reconciled to God.

We need to proclaim this good news to those who are hurting, to those who despair. And perhaps the best way to share the hope that is in you is to live it. That doesn’t mean you throw a party when a devastating event occurs in your life. But you do hold on to the hope that is yours, the hope that will not disappoint you. When you have problems, you go to God for comfort and support:

What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer.
Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer!

The peace we so often forfeit is the same thing Paul spoke of in this text: since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That peace was costly, but the price was paid for us by Jesus.

That is peace for ALL time.