Peace That Was Made, Not Found

Romans 5:1. "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The verse opens with a therefore, which means it is leaning on everything Paul has argued in the first four chapters: that no one is put right with God by keeping the law, and that Abraham was counted righteous because he believed. Now Paul names the first result. Peace.

Notice what kind of peace it is. It is peace with God, not merely peace from God. The hostility is over. The account has been settled. This is not a feeling you work up on a good morning; it is a standing you receive because a verdict has been given. Feelings follow verdicts, not the other way round.

For a reader at the end of a long July week, this matters. You may not feel at peace with your inbox, your body, or your own record. But if you are in Christ, the one relationship that governs every other has already been made right, and it does not shift with the weather.