Romans 5:7,8

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:7,8 ESV



For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die

Would you willingly and knowingly give your life for your child? Would you willingly and knowingly give your life for someone you know is a good person? Would you willingly and knowingly give your life for a murderer - would you willingly be executed in place of someone who was guilty of murder - what if the victim was your child - what if they showed no repentance whatsoever, would you take their place?

This is a horrible scenario, it is hard to even think about, and was hard to type. I can't fathom being in that situation, and I never want to be. I believe, however, that sometimes we need to be cut deep, while pondering the things of God, in order to properly grasp them.

I believe most people would give their lives for their children. Paul says that yes, some people would perhaps even give their lives for a good or righteous person. These things are not completely out of the question for humans to do - even with our sinful nature we have some knowledge of God and what is "good" within us.

However, God's ways are far, far above ours. When He acts, it is in opposition to what we would do or what we would think makes sense according to our human "wisdom" - God made a restored relationship with Him possible by having His Son brutally beaten and murdered - all for people that hated Him - for the very people that were guilty of so much sin and evil.



but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us

Coming up in verse 10, Paul says that we were reconciled to God while we were enemies of God. We will dig into that when we get there, but I think that gives us an important perspective. When Christ died on the cross, He was paying the debt for those that were enemies of God. While we may think that rewards are given to those who deserve or earn them, God acts in opposition to our thinking.

Christ's blood is was not shed for those who would prove their desire/ability to be righteous - 

 this is what would make sense to us. 

Paul makes a clear contrast to what makes sense to us and what God does. We would maybe die for those who desire to be righteous, but God shows His love for us by sending His Son to die for us while we were still sinners, and loving it! While we were His enemies, and loving it! God didn't wait for us to make a righteous move, He made a grace move when, according to verse 6, He made salvation possible while we were weak and ungodly! 

Jesus summed this up when He said, ""Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:17. 

Why would God do this? God shows his love for us - God is glorified when He is revealed, and God is revealed when His love is shown. This is why it is so important to grasp how desperately we needed God to help us, when we were His enemies. I don't think that we will ever completely grasp how much love was shown, but if we are not spending time thinking about this truth, about the sacrifice that was made on behalf of people that hated Him, I think we are hindering the pure love of God from being revealed.