“Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption, that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath proposed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to the shewing of his justice, for the remission of former sins, through the forbearance of God, for the shewing of his justice in this time; that he himself may be just, and the justifier of him, who is of the faith of Jesus Christ.”
Because all have sinned and acted outside of the love of God, mankind needs the gift of justification, something he is unable to attain through his own capabilities, but must be extended by God by grace. It is comparable to a king that offers a gift to someone of a lower station, which the person then acts accordingly by acting with due respect and friendship. Even more so is it with the cause of sin; for it is not just the lower station of man to an infinitely good God, but man that has acted against this same God: “And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt” (Matthew 18:27). It is also comparable to the gift of the queenship of Queen Esther, who was a lowly maiden but lovely in the king’s sight: “She had favour and kindness before him above all the women, and he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vasthi” (Esther 2:17). There is great beauty in human nature, something magnificent in the eyes of God beyond all His other creatures, and he longs to adorn His people with grace: “Myrrh and stacte and cassia perfume thy garments, from the ivory houses: out of which the daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory” (Psalm 44:8). Though sin once marred your nature, it is set aside for the garments of righteousness, that divine love may shine through your redeemed humanity: “Arise, arise, put on thy strength, O Sion, put on the garments of thy glory, O Jerusalem, the city of the Holy One” (Isaias 52:1). It is a free gift, not from anything you yourself have done or any good qualities on your part, but solely because God loves you: “But by the grace of God, I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10). This is done by the ransom paid by Christ Jesus for your expiation from sin and error: “Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee” (Isaias 60:1), that you may be free to love: “But God, (who is rich in mercy,) for his exceeding love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-5); “Let us therefore love God, because God hath first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Because this extraordinary gift was given you through Jesus and through none other, it is friendship with Him to which you are called, for “No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18). It is the humanity of Jesus that meets you where you are, that allows you to know the heart of God: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, and let not the strong man glory in his strength, and let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me” (Jeremias 9:23-24). Jesus is called the “propitiation,” which is used in the Old Testament as a sacrifice that wipes away sin and refers to the mercy seat of God’s presence on the ark of the covenant: “Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold: the length thereof shall be two cubits and a half, and the breadth a cubit and a half” (Exodus 25:17), on which the high priest sprinkled blood to restore fellowship of Israel with God: “Upon this day shall be the expiation for you, and the cleansing from all your sins: you shall be cleansed before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:30). The importance of this for you, Theophila, is that you are on of those that “have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Apocalypse 7:14) that you may possess friendship and intimacy with God. His love is not a foreign reality to you but something that fills you, upholds you, and is given to you abundantly: “May God supply all your want, according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Therefore, have faith in this same blood, for the cost of loving you was every drop of His Most Precious Blood: “I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). This then, St. Paul calls the “showing of his justice,” because as a rich man can display his riches most lavishly by giving his riches to those in his kingdom: “And he distributed to all the multitude of Israel, both men and women, to every one, a cake of bread, and a piece of roasted beef, and fine flour fried with oil” (2 Kings 6:19), God shows the abundance of His love by giving this same love in the form of His Son to each and every person that will open their hearts to receive Him: “For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). This also shows God’s justice, for justice is rendering to each one their right, and God, understanding that His poor little creatures are fallen, broken, and lost: “And Jesus going out saw a great multitude: and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd” (Mark 6:34), comes down with gentleness and love to mend the wounds that only He can mend: “Correct me, O Lord, but yet with judgment: and not in thy fury, lest thou bring me to nothing” (Jeremias 10:24). Therefore, realize that Jesus is the gentle Lamb, coming to you in love, having paid the debt and now drawing near to you as a best friend, spouse, brother, confidant, not overwhelming you with might but always approaching you with peace: “The bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench” (Isaias 42:3); “Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: ‘Peace be to you’” (John 20:19). “Being justified therefore by faith, let us have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Finally, by your true, upright, faithful love, God is shown to be just, for it is His glory that is displayed when you love Him radically and show this love in your life and deeds: “Thine, O Lord, is magnificence, and power, and glory, and victory: and to thee is praise: for all that is in heaven, and in earth, is thine: thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art above all princes” (1 Paralipomenon 19:11); “Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honour, and power” (Apocalypse 4:11). As such, “In this is my Father glorified; that you bring forth very much fruit, and become my disciples” (John 15:8), because the more flowers you place in your love story, the lovelier it becomes, for “You are our epistle, written in our hearts, which is known and read by all men: being manifested, that you are the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, and written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart” (2 Corinthians 3:2-2). Live so immersed in God’s love that when the book of the love story of your life is presented at the end of days, the reaction of the heavenly host will play out just as it is written: “And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints: and they sung a new canticle, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to take the book and to open the seals thereof” (Apocalypse 5:8-9).