Whoa! Jumping into Romans after reading mostly narratives so far is crazy!!! There is no way I can do justice to a chapter of Romans in a short paragraph or two, so I will just write about something that really jumps out at me each day. If you want a more detailed handling of Romans chapter by chapter, you can look at my older blogs...I went through it two or three years ago.
I have Romans 1:14 underlined and asterisked in my Bible and I understand why after reading through it again today. In the midst of so much meaty theological writing by Paul, this jumps out at me because it levels a pretty intense challenge my way. In the verses that come before, Paul is telling the Roman church that he cannot come and see them...he really wants to spend time with them...encourage them...disciple them...but he cannot because of what he writes in verse 14 - he is obligated to continue the ministry that he is doing to those on the margins of the faith. The Greeks and the barbarians...the wise and the foolish. This obligation he has comes from none other than God. Paul's unshakable belief in Jesus Christ...his utter dependence on the Gospel message...demand that he share that truth with people who can be quite difficult. This is a powerful message for me to hear. It is so much easier to do ministry to people that want to be in church...people that come to your church...students who are genuinely great kids who come from Christian homes...that kind of ministry is easy. That kind of ministry is not often soul-crushing...heartbreaking...ulcer inducing...but much as I love hanging out with good kids who want to know Jesus more, I am obligated by the life-changing/mind-blowing/peace-giving/sin-removing Gospel of Jesus Christ to share that message with those who are on the margins of faith and society. The modern day barbarians...those who think they are too smart of be believers...those who seem to be too dumb to understand that they need help...those who are (whether they know it or not) desperately crying out for the truth that I just happen to know (Thanks be to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!). Paul understood his obligations...the obligations of a Christ-following Christian. Do I? Do you?
No comments:
Post a Comment