Good morning,
It’s times like this that I
wish I was a poet. After a rather sober look at our spiritual fathers
last week, I had a whole week of celebrating our Father God while trying
to keep what I was finding limited to the time allowed for our morning
service. Since the space allowed for a Monday Minute is even more
limiting, I thought that I would settle on writing about some of the
awesome truths included in Romans 1:6,7. Paul reminds those of us who
are Gentiles and who have trusted Jesus as our Savior, that we are a
part of God’s eternal family. The Old Testament is full of references
to the Jews as God’s special people, but since Jesus finished his work
on the cross we Gentiles can also be considered children of God with all
the rights given to legally adopted children. No matter how we feel on
any given day, we still are children of the King of kings and the Lord
of lords. We may have become used to thinking of ourselves as the world
defines us, but all that nasty input, we call it trash talk, is just a
pack of lies.
It keeps getting better. We
are not just God’s kids. We are kids that God loves dearly no matter
what stage or age we have come to in our journey through time. Our
Heavenly Dad knows the kinds of challenges we face as we go from infancy
to maturity in our walk with him. He knows that we live in a world
filled with deep darkness, but he sees us as holy children learning to
walk in the light of his truth. He holds our hand as we stumble along
and he generously gives us all the grace we need to keep on growing and
following him on our daily journey through life here on earth. When God
gives us his grace, he doesn’t demand that we earn it. We are so used
to being treated well if we perform well that we can hardly get our mind
around a Heavenly Father who is on our side no matter what we are going
through. In a world full of driven people, surrounded by circumstances
that are beyond our control, and haunted by feelings of our own
inadequacy, our Heavenly Dad offers us what he defines as his peace.
God’s idea of peace is wrapped up in the word “shalom.” God knows that
we will always be living in some sort of conflict, but what he promises
us who trust him more and more, is a life filled with harmony with God
and those around us. God’s kids can live with God’s filter that “all is
well” both physically and spiritually because he is in perfect
control. Thanks Dad! You are an awesome Father to all your kids.
Romans 1:6 And you
are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to
Jesus Christ. 7 I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God
and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Roy Wisner
