Jimbo's Jots

Our kids are not perfect!! Not as in mine, specifically. But we understand our kids are not perfect!

When my own girls were younger, there were periods of tension, anger, shouting . . . at each other, us at them. Every once in while, Lori and I would have this conversation:

Lori: “Why did we have children?”

Me: “Because we want to experience the same joy and happiness our parents had in raising us.” (Smiling)

L: “When does that start?”

Me: “When they move out!!”

And then we laugh, and get back to reality!!

Paul understood this when he wrote these early churches. They was like his children! So, when he writes the churches in Rome. He writes as if he is a parent writing to his children.

Like we have shared before, Paul wants them to BE RIGHT! In the eyes of Paul, as Warren Wiersbe points out, (again, looking through his commentary on Romans, Be Right), he has to start with the bad news first so we can appreciate the good news that is coming.

So open up your Bible to Romans 1:18-3:20. When you get a chance, sit and read it. What Paul wants his readers to know righteousness is not because of our great achievements. Our righteousness is because of God’s goodness by exploring our attempt at being right in our own eyes first.

Briefly, Paul says the Gentiles world is guilty of their unrighteousness (1:18-32). They tried intellectualizing God (1:18-20) and seeking their own desires (1:24-27). The Jews had their chance claiming their right by receiving the blessing of God (2:4-11) and receiving the law from God (1:12-24), and circumcision (2:25-29). Paul essentially concludes, “We’re all guilty!!” (3:10-18).

Here is what I find interesting about this text – three times, Paul writes, “God gave them over . . .” (1:24, 26, 28). In other words, God gave up! He did not force his way in to people’s lives to become right.

Sometimes, the pressures of life press down on us like a mill grind, even in parenting or in marriage. This is not the end of the story! That’s just the bad news for now! Paul will begin to show us soon the good news!

Be blessed and be a blessing!!