Romans 8:32 (ESV) — He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Imagine a combat zone. There is a soldier wounded on the battlefield and is pinned down by enemy fire. He can’t move anywhere. He can’t help himself. Then another soldier runs into the fray and grabs the wounded soldier and drags him to safety. Now imagine if the soldier that rescued the other one looked at the wounded soldier and said, “Evacuation helicopters are coming soon.” How shocked do you think the rescuer would be if the wounded man began to fearfully plead, “Please don’t leave me here!” The rescuing soldier may reply back, “Of course I’m not going to leave you. I’ve already done the biggest thing in rescuing you, why would I leave you behind?” 

This is a fictitious story that teaches us something that is true about what God has done for all of us, and how we should understand His ongoing provisions. In our passage today, Paul writes to the church in Rome, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Do you see that? If the Father did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us to die for our sin, how will He not provide for us everything else we need? This question is vital for Christians to wrestle with. If we belong to Christ, our sins are forgiven and we are adopted children of God. We were not able to save ourselves. We were the wounded soldier on the battlefield incapable of rescuing ourselves. But Jesus came and rescued us. He lived a perfect life, died a sinner’s death, and rose from the grave. When we put our faith and trust in Him, we are declared justified and righteous. Everything changes. 

Do we now imagine that the God who would send His own Son to save us from our sins won’t provide the little things we need in life? Do we think He’ll fail to meet our needs, comfort us in our sorrows, abandon us in our trials, or fail to keep us in the faith? By no means! We should recognize that if He did for us what we could not do for ourselves, then He’s not going to abandon us when the “evacuation helicopter” arrives. Trust His faithfulness today.

Reflection & Journal:
- How did God not spare His Son? What does it mean, “gave him up for us”?
- What is Paul’s argument about providing for all other things we need?  
- What examples in your own life can you give, of God providing for you?

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