peace

I’ve messed up some relationships. By God’s grace, I think the ones I have now are all pretty good, but I remember that feeling of turning around to avoid someone, of wondering what they might have said to other people. Of my heart racing when I suddenly, unexpectedly came face to face with that person.

A bad relationship can hang over life like a storm cloud, occasionally dumping a bunch of misery but most often just throwing a shadow over everything.

Romans 5 got me thinking this morning about my bad relationship with God. Or, what used to be a bad one. Look at this, from Romans 5:1-2: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”

Peace with God. No more guilt, no more trying to keep him out of my head. No more fear.

The problem with this particular relationship is that there’s no way to avoid God, at least not until it gets so bad he leaves you to your own sin. The Holy Spirit never takes a day off. There’s not a way to walk circles around him, or avoid places he might be. And a bigger problem: there’s no way to win against God. Not only is he always right, but he’s all-knowing and all-powerful.

What a relief to be at peace with God! What a relief to talk to him every day, to grumble when I’m mad, to say thank you when I’m happy. A good relationship is like sunshine, and this one brings the Sonshine that lights up my whole world.