When in Rome...

I am venturing into the powerful New Testament book of Romans, where the apostle Paul laid the groundwork for faith before traveling to meet the church in Rome.  He really laid out the North, South, East and West of knowing the Lord in this great book.  I suppose it could be considered a Treasure Map to Heaven.  There is a lot of victory contained in its pages.  One thought that struck me this morning was that we all need to have faith, or trust, in something.  That's because (a) we don't know what is going to happen in our lives, (b) we can't control what is going to happen in our lives, and (c) we don't understand what's happening in our lives.  As we look out from our individual minds, hearts and eyes we really know that we are very limited in our power and understanding.  But, unfortunately, that doesn't stop us from putting our trust in the wrong places.  The first chapter of Romans suggests that we are going to place our trust in only one of two possible places: the Creator or the Creation.  I guess that is pretty much stating the obvious because, if there is a Creator, all that we see and know is wrapped up in Him or what He has made.  Apparently, the role of Creation is to reveal the Creator.  Romans, chapter 1, verse 20 says, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made".  But the problem doesn't seem to be recognizing the Lord through His handiwork...the circuit is broken when we fail to acknowledge and honor Him.  Verse 20 ends by saying "so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks."  As a result we end up walking in the dark, becoming foolish and putting our confidence in everything but God.  Things just tend to go downhill from there.  Verse 28: "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper."  Like a wheel with the axle placed off-center we roll with a lot of bumps and life is far from what God had in mind. 

Well I can't wait to find out how God helps us get back on track as we move farther into the book.  I've never been to Rome but I feel like I can relate to these Romans.

 

blessings,

Rob Smith