Power Witness

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional:

HOW POWERFUL IS THE CROSS FOR ME?
 
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  Romans 1:28

Paul writes to the Christians in Rome who were in no way naïve and sheltered from their culture.  They were first century Romans.  Life was barbaric, sexually deviant, and politically cut throat.  One could see about anything in broad daylight, even in the so-called temples of the day.  The blood of people and animals ran down walls like water. 

What happened to a person when God gave them up to do whatever their hearts desired was on full display.  One didn't have to go to the bad side of town to see it.  There were no corners of Rome where life was provincial, where behavior looked righteous but sin was under the surface.  A God-ward conscience was a rare thing.  The behavior of the majority of the population was described by Paul.  They were a people "filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice, envy murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness." 

If you were rich in ancient Rome, you were privileged to live on a large piece of land outside the stench of the city.  Opulence reigned but the danger of political alliances plagued you day and night.  If you were poor and lived inside the city, gangs ruled and life was physically dangerous.  Whether rich or poor, sin - the likes of what we can only begin to imagine, was encouraged and displayed.  Talks of being impaled on a pole for petty crimes were commonplace around dinner tables.

It was out of this that Paul was converted.  It was out of this that the Roman church was born.  The power of the cross to change lives from such debauchery to godliness was the Christian's witness.  Each one, treasuring Jesus, lived in such a way as to provide a stark contrast between one who worshipped Roman gods and one who followed Christ.

The implications for me are staggering.  As I tend to become discouraged over the places where sin still has a hold over me, I remind myself of Calvary.  Christ died for my sins, died to make me a daughter in a new kingdom, and powerful life change will be the result when I treasure Jesus today more than I treasure doing the things which come so easily for me but dishonor my Savior.

I pray that You will let my heart and mind live in first century Rome as I read Paul's words.  Don't let me get used to 'cross' talk without being profoundly moved.  Amen