Children of the Promise
Read Romans 9:1-8.
Paul is struggling as he writes this section of his letter to the church at Rome, and his struggle has become the struggle of countless Christians throughout the centuries. Paul's question, the focus for chapters 9-11 of this letter, is this: has God abandoned his people? Has God passed Israel over for the sake of a new people, the Jesus followers? God made an everlasting covenant to Israel, and, as he says in this passage, "It is not as though God’s word had failed" (9:6). Yet the promise of salvation has clearly been given to those who put their hope, faith and trust in Jesus. So...what gives, God?
It's a difficult issue to wrestle with, far beyond the scope of this simple blog. Suffice it to say, Paul did not abandon his love for his people. He was a Jew, and remained a Jew even as he put his faith in Jesus. He saw faith in Jesus as the completion of his heritage, his faith. Biblical scholar William Barclay concludes that Paul's "final word" is this: "there is more to Jewishness than descent from Abraham, [and] that the chosen people were not simply the entire sum of all of Abraham’s physical descendants.” After all, in Galatians, Paul says that if you belong to Christ, then indeed you are one of Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). The promise fulfilled by Christ is what makes us, after all, children of Abraham, children of the promise.
Paul's struggle, though, and his deep love for his heritage makes me mindful of those we love who might not yet understand or accept our commitment to Jesus Christ, let alone make their own. Are there those whom you grieve over because they do not yet know the joy of following Christ? Perhaps, more importantly, are there those for whom you pour out your heart to God, asking that they will become children of the promise? If not, why not? There are those around us who need to know Jesus. Why does that not affect us the way it affected Paul? Why do we, instead, get comfortable in our pew and forget about the world that is lost? Paul never did because being children of the promise doesn't mean we keep it all to ourselves; it means we want to share that promise with all who will listen. That was Paul's heartbeat; I pray it becomes ours as well.
 |
| "Ancient" Rome, the Forum, photographed 2014 |
Paul is struggling as he writes this section of his letter to the church at Rome, and his struggle has become the struggle of countless Christians throughout the centuries. Paul's question, the focus for chapters 9-11 of this letter, is this: has God abandoned his people? Has God passed Israel over for the sake of a new people, the Jesus followers? God made an everlasting covenant to Israel, and, as he says in this passage, "It is not as though God’s word had failed" (9:6). Yet the promise of salvation has clearly been given to those who put their hope, faith and trust in Jesus. So...what gives, God?
It's a difficult issue to wrestle with, far beyond the scope of this simple blog. Suffice it to say, Paul did not abandon his love for his people. He was a Jew, and remained a Jew even as he put his faith in Jesus. He saw faith in Jesus as the completion of his heritage, his faith. Biblical scholar William Barclay concludes that Paul's "final word" is this: "there is more to Jewishness than descent from Abraham, [and] that the chosen people were not simply the entire sum of all of Abraham’s physical descendants.” After all, in Galatians, Paul says that if you belong to Christ, then indeed you are one of Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). The promise fulfilled by Christ is what makes us, after all, children of Abraham, children of the promise.
Paul's struggle, though, and his deep love for his heritage makes me mindful of those we love who might not yet understand or accept our commitment to Jesus Christ, let alone make their own. Are there those whom you grieve over because they do not yet know the joy of following Christ? Perhaps, more importantly, are there those for whom you pour out your heart to God, asking that they will become children of the promise? If not, why not? There are those around us who need to know Jesus. Why does that not affect us the way it affected Paul? Why do we, instead, get comfortable in our pew and forget about the world that is lost? Paul never did because being children of the promise doesn't mean we keep it all to ourselves; it means we want to share that promise with all who will listen. That was Paul's heartbeat; I pray it becomes ours as well.
Comments
Post a Comment