“ through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name,
6 including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, (Romans 1:5)”
Paul’s first sentence in his letter to the Romans is definitely a mental challenge. We pondered his introduction as a “slave” of Christ Jesus and what title we would choose. Then he says he was “called” to be an apostle to the Gentiles and Jews because of his direct encounter on the road to Damascus. I suspect our Christian identity is not necessarily something we lead with as we introduce ourselves to others but we wait for “the right moment.” In this same sentence that introduces not only Paul as the author but also his message he is about to introduce, Paul now says we too have grace and apostleship through “the obedience of faith.” Hmmm. Paul does not set faith and works as opposites like many are prone to do when talking about salvation. Paul sees faith working hand in hand with obedience, the living out of the faith we profess.
Romans is going to confront us with the integrity of our faith. Today the question is “Do we walk the talk?” Paul does not want this to be a question just for those other guys whom we identify as “sinners” but he is going to build a message that challenges his readers to take their own spiritual temperature, honestly reflecting on how well they have integrated their faith with their lives.
Let’s take that question out of the “hell fire and brimstone” context we often put it in and let’s put the question in to the context of how we want our friends and family to understand us. Do we want to be known as a “player” or as “one inch deep and a mile wide” or “all blow and no show”? The rubber meets the road if you ask me how I want to be seen in the eyes of my grandchildren and my friends. I want my faith to bring about obedience to the wisdom of the God who made life and knows how it works best.
May we join Paul today and pray that we grow in our ability to submit our will, obedience, in faith to the God who has revealed himself to us and desires to grow a relationship of grace with us. Lord, help.
On the Way to Wonder 