Wednesday, April 1, 2009
I guess I'm a bit of a devotional thinker at times. As I reflect upon Romans 12:1-3which is the start of his practical application (subsequent to his doctrinal one, per John Witmer), the theme of God's mercy and grace comes through here. Do we, (DO I) truly offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices in view of His mercy? The gift of faith is especially precious to me, as I recall a time back in 1989 when I was on Callala Beach, slumped over and thinking my life was over. God in his grace gave me a vision of letters that looked like gold, almost dripping gold which spelt FAITH and He spoke into my heart and said 'faith is a gift.' He subsequently empowered me to get up, take hold of my 7 year old daughter's hand and walk home. ..Who am I O GOD that you should consider me a fallen and weak creature, surely you are a merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, and full of compassion!!! Surely we cannot think of ourselves more highly than we ought to, for indeed it is by grace through the GIFT of faith that we belong to Him, to the praise of His glory!!
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Rob, I think Paul would be a little surprised to see his letter divided into "practical application" and "doctrinal". There is plenty of application in chs 1-11 and plenty of doctrine in 12-16. I think it is worth observing because too many people seem to be able to divide following Jesus into two separate categories: what I think and what I do. I believe Paul calls for the "obedience of faith" - a holistic commitment to Jesus. What we think must be lived, and how we live involves what we think.
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