Day 12  -  February 28

Dr. Artie L. Polk

Revealed
~ Romans 8:18, 4:13-25

 The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a formidable enemy.  The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has given us great pause.  White supremacy continues to reveal the dark side of our society.  Suffering, blood, and death surround us.  The earth mourns because of us.  Sometimes we wonder, where is God?  Despite all this, in the book of Romans, Paul writes about a glory that will be revealed toward us, into us, within us, and upon us, from above, as a gift.

Paul cannot find words to describe the difference between the “now” and the “not yet.”  We live in tension between the two. Paul argues, though, that part of the “not yet” has broken into the “now.” Paul makes this argument because if we are “in Christ,” that which is true of Him is, and will be, true of His people.

Because this life is a mess, it is often difficult to embrace Paul’s words.  But we have to exercise faith. In Romans 4, Paul writes that Abraham was “…fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.  Therefore, his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’” Paul closes this thought as he writes, “Now the words, ‘it was reckoned to him,’ were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also.  It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.”

Then, Paul departs from us today with his grand conclusion and declaration that in all things, our sufferings included, “…God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Reflection: What is it in God’s Revealed Word that touches me deeply today?