Father, how many times have You met me here? I’ve long lost count but You know. This has been an anchor for me. Through ups and downs, it has kept me tethered to You. I have drifted in the past, but it’s never let me get too far. Thank You for Your hand in it all. Thank You for Your unrelenting love.
Romans 2:25-29 (<<click here to read the passage)
I realize that some have been totally turned off by all that has been going on since Queen Elizabeth’s passing. They are tired of hearing about all the inner workings of royalty and the transition of “power”, such as it is. I find it interesting myself, though I must admit that I’ve only been keeping tabs on a news story here and there.
But as I was reading through today’s text, a thought came to me. For millennia, in Great Britain and many other countries over time, leadership of this nature has passed from generation to generation – father or mother to son or daughter, whatever the case may have been. At the center of it all – plain and simple – was bloodline. Where a father may have been a very strong all-around leader – great with decisions, wise in his dealings, fair in his judgments, gifted in his military strategies – his heir, who took things into his hands upon his father’s death, could very well have been entirely incompetent on all fronts. All countries have suffered from very poor leadership at some time or another.
Just because an individual was of royal birth, just because they had been around and gone through all the pomp and circumstance of living in such an environment, does not mean that they automatically have what it takes to lead as their forebearers have.
Paul plainly states in verse 28,
For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision.
Just because my father and mother gave themselves over to the Lord and faithfully obeyed his directives for their lives, does not mean that I “inherit” their salvation. Just because I might be capable of parroting their actions and vocabulary when it comes to “Christian” living does not mean that I am automatically a Christian. Their influence upon my life is of great importance but unless I embrace for myself that intimate relationship with God, all my words and actions are worthless.
Each of us is responsible for ourselves…no one else. I cannot make decisions for anyone but myself. My wife makes her own decisions. My son makes his own decisions. All the men and women of my congregations are responsible for making their own decisions. I can only point them in the right direction. And they should question even that, assuring within themselves – in light of the Holy Spirit’s leading – that I have spoken the truth.
Circumcision was an outward sign of a Jew’s relationship with God, but Paul made it very clear that that wasn’t enough. True circumcision was more than an external and physical act. To be a true Jew – and for that matter a true Christian – it is being one inwardly; and [true] circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by [the fulfillment of] the letter [of the Law]. His praise is not from men, but from God. v29 AMP
Lord Jesus, may we all yield to You. We cannot enter a relationship with You based on anyone else’s relationship with You. It is our decision and ours alone.
Oct 12th, 2022, Wed, 7:45 pm
