For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Romans 5:6 (NASB)

Read the first few words of that verse again slowly. Romans 5 paints a dark picture of who we are before we know Christ. When you slow down to really listen and pay attention to the words Paul uses you could easily have a response such as, “I know I may not have it all together but, helpless, weak, powerless seems a bit much.” We don’t like this idea because it makes us sound so wimpy. Helpless flies in the face of the cultural message to “pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and tough it out”! Not to be a downer, but the Bible does not lie.

To truly understand and walk daily in gratitude for the greatness of God’s love and grace, we need to be reminded of who we were before we had a relationship with Jesus. That is what the Apostle Paul is doing here. He is saying “Never forget who you used to be. Never forget the power of God’s grace.” And to set us up as much as possible to remember, Paul does not go easy on us.  He uses ugly, violent, and maybe even offensive words to describe us before we experienced the grace of God in Christ; helpless, ungodly, sinners, enemies. It is almost as if he is telling us, “So you think you weren’t too bad off? Actually it is much worse than you think.”

I don’t know if it is right to have a favorite word among helpless, ungodly, sinners and enemies when describing who I was before Christ. But perhaps the word that I feel holds them all together is the word, helpless. We were God’s enemies and we were powerless to make ourselves His friends. We were ungodly and we were unable to make ourselves more like Him. We were sinners and we did not have the strength to make ourselves right. We were helpless.  This truth pushes us to the beautiful place of grateful surrender and humility. It opens up our hearts to embrace and shout with hope, “Jesus, I need You.” 

My grandfather, had a huge and  compassionate heart. He loved Jesus, people and really loved dogs. At one time they had over ten dogs! I have memories as a kid of pulling up to their house in the country and being greeted by a massive wall of big barking dogs. It was quite intimidating! The funny thing about his dogs was that most of them had been strays he picked on the side of the road.  He would be driving down the road, probably a little too fast and whistling a hymn, in a giant Buick or Oldesmobile and see a stray dog on the side of the road. It didn’t matter that the dog might have fleas and ticks. It didn’t matter the color or size. It didn’t matter if it smelled or was eating roadkill. My grandfather’s heart of love and compassion was stronger. So he would stop the car, get the dog and take it home and give my grandmother the same story. “We will just help it get healthy and then find it a good home.” Their home became that “good home”.  Those dogs ate food from the table.  They slept wherever they wanted to sleep. Many were named after family members. They were loved and given a new life.

All of us are like those stray, smelly, homeless dogs before we know Jesus.

In Romans 5:6, right in the middle of being called helpless and ungodly are six words that changed the course of history, our lives, and put the love and grace of God on display. “At the right time Christ died…” At the right moment He pulled up, and no matter how dirty we were, He gave us a new home and life through sacrificing Himself. 

We were helpless and ungodly. He died for us.

That is the good news between helpless and ungodly. 

Me, Missy and Joe at my grandparents house.