LIVING INSIDE A LOVE YOU DIDN’T EARN

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” — Romans 5:8

One of the clearest distinctions between the gospel and human systems is this: grace precedes merit.

The book of Romans 5:8 places the timing of God’s love at the center of its meaning. Christ did not die for a restored humanity, but for a rebellious one. You realize that this is not just sentimental love, but it is redemptive love. This speaks to the doctrine of justification by grace.

As Paul elaborates:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith… not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)

God’s love does not operate within an achievement framework. It is not earned, negotiated, or sustained by human effort. Instead, it is given freely on the basis of Christ’s finished work on the cross and the glorious resurrection from the grace.

This reframes how we understand our relationship with God. We are not working toward acceptance; we are living from it.

Paul develops this further in Romans 5:1: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I tend to believe that peace here is not merely emotional calm, but it is a relational restoration. The hostility caused by sin has been resolved. The believer now stands in a new position: reconciled, accepted, and secure.

He goes ahead in Romans 5:2 to say that we “stand in grace.” To show that it is not a momentary experience but a wholly new environment of existence. To borrow an analogy, grace is not a doorway we pass through once, it is the atmosphere we now live in through faith in Christ because of God’s love.

It moves us from striving to abiding (John 15:4–5). From performance-based living to Spirit-empowered obedience. From insecurity to confidence in God’s unchanging posture toward us.

And importantly, it reshapes how we love others. Freely received grace becomes freely extended grace.

Jesus makes this connection explicit: “Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)

To love like Jesus, then, is to love without demanding repayment; to extend to others what we ourselves did not earn. All glory to Him-The Most High God!

David Onditi
Volunteer Service Team/Impact Team
Kenya