I love it when Ethan calls me, because if I'm deep in the midst of studying the next seminary or Gospel Doctrine lesson, he provides a terrific sounding board for my thoughts. Today, he only had 20 minutes to talk, but I didn't want to interrupt my seminary lesson with Glo, so I threw a few thoughts at him on speaker phone with Glo listening in.
I love the scripture in Romans 1:16 where Paul unequivocally states that he is not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When you put his statement into the context of the time, it's much more than just a mere statement of his testimony.
Let's think about Rome how we all always think about Rome. The gods of Zeus and Aphrodite and Hera were common place. The city was ruled by mostly evil Caesars. Slaves were forced to fight in an arena for the entertainment of the people. And yet, somewhere in this midst of all that wickedness, there was a small band of Christian saints, attempting to live their lives according to their newly adopted religion. I imagine that they occasionally feared for their lives, living in a time when religious tolerance wasn't at the forefront of anyone's thoughts or actions.
Does any of this sound familiar?
It didn't take more than a second for Ethan to remark, "Crazy how after 2,000 years, times haven't really changed all that much."
Agreed.
What gods do people worship now? Money. Power. Wealth.
Many people in government are corrupt, or at least don't have the best interests of human kind in the forefront of their minds.
And how small is our church? By the numbers, it sounds impressive. Over 15 million. But when compared with the global stage we are on, it's minuscule.
How inspiring then for Paul to write to the Roman saints and to state that he is not ashamed of his religion, and nor should they be. Wherever we are, and with whomever we are, we should not be ashamed of what we are or what we stand for.
I love the scripture in Romans 1:16 where Paul unequivocally states that he is not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When you put his statement into the context of the time, it's much more than just a mere statement of his testimony.Let's think about Rome how we all always think about Rome. The gods of Zeus and Aphrodite and Hera were common place. The city was ruled by mostly evil Caesars. Slaves were forced to fight in an arena for the entertainment of the people. And yet, somewhere in this midst of all that wickedness, there was a small band of Christian saints, attempting to live their lives according to their newly adopted religion. I imagine that they occasionally feared for their lives, living in a time when religious tolerance wasn't at the forefront of anyone's thoughts or actions.
Does any of this sound familiar?
It didn't take more than a second for Ethan to remark, "Crazy how after 2,000 years, times haven't really changed all that much."
Agreed.
What gods do people worship now? Money. Power. Wealth.
Many people in government are corrupt, or at least don't have the best interests of human kind in the forefront of their minds.
And how small is our church? By the numbers, it sounds impressive. Over 15 million. But when compared with the global stage we are on, it's minuscule.
How inspiring then for Paul to write to the Roman saints and to state that he is not ashamed of his religion, and nor should they be. Wherever we are, and with whomever we are, we should not be ashamed of what we are or what we stand for.
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