Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 118; Joel 2:28-3:8; Luke 15:1-10; Romans 3:19-31
Today’s reading from Romans took me back immediately to our Tuesday evening Sacred Grounds conversation, as the focus of the group’s conversation that evening was about issues relating to faith. The verse from today’s reading from Romans that best captures Paul’s exploration of faith is verse 28: “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.” What I appreciate about this verse is that it seems to cut through the age-old debate regarding the crux of our salvific experience: i.e. is that experience the result of faith or is the experience the result of works? What verse 28 does is redefine faith so that faith is clearly not a work - something that one has to do or have in order to be okay with God. Rather, Paul’s words invite his readers to think of faith as something else. I have used Paul’s invitation over the years to help me arrive at this basic understanding of faith: faith (for me) is simply a relational response to God. So how has Paul’s words shaped the way you think about faith and its role in your spiritual life? Today I hope you’ll spend some time considering this question. Til next time…
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