Friday 7 Sep 2012

Friday Reading: Romans 13:1-8

Key Verse: Romans 13:5
5  Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

Devotion:
One of the biggest things that we will fight with is not principalities or powers but our very own consciences. We have laws of the land to try and allow us to live together peaceably in the land in which we live. We have laws from God to try and make sure that we work toward living in peace with everyone. And then God has given us our consciences so that we will be able to tell right from wrong without having to find out the hard way by going against the law. Yes we could try everything until we find out if things are right or wrong, but imagine just how wearisome we would become when we have to face punishment over and over again because we have chosen the wrong way to do things in the beginning!

God’s laws are here for guidance as well as for upholding what is righteous. The law is used to berate people who go against it but it should also be used as a guide to point us in the right direction before we go wrong. God appoints people in the land to take on the task of looking after things. He allows people in positions of power so that we can all learn from what is going on. Sometimes people get into power that we think ought not to be there because they do not do the things that we expect Christians to do; and just maybe God is trying to show us a thing or two during those times. We may well be the ones who have allowed those very people to get into power so we are the ones who have to be shown what we have done wrong.

Can you imagine how good things would be if we actually did follow the rules before breaking them? Could you imagine how peaceful and right things would be just because we were listening to the rules? Well there is no real surprise in learning that God has been trying to show us a thing or two for thousands of years. We are the ones who have consistently turned our minds away from His law and tried to make our own laws – only to find that living by them is not as easy as it sounds.

What we need to be able to do is to live toward keeping God’s laws from the beginning, allowing them to be our constant guide and not just the rules that show us how we have to accept punishment when we have done things wrong. God did not send His Son into the world to punish us all but rather to seek us out and to save us from our sinful ways. Walk with God and listen to His ways before going against them!

Points to Ponder:
Do you keep to the rules?

Are you actually trying to follow God’s Law?