Paul wrote to the fledgling church in Rome, a church he did not start. Scholars speculate that it was started by Roman Jews who had returned home after the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2. Having heard the gospel preached by Peter, they returned to their homes in the great city as converts to Christ. Paul writes to them during his third missionary journey and from Corinth. He has many reasons for writing, including his desire to stop over in Rome on his way to Spain. He presents a fleshed out gospel, addressing some pastoral concerns in the new church, implicitly asking the Roman Christians to receive his gospel, his ministry and allow him to use Rome as a missionary base for his work in the Eastern part of the Empire.
We have spent 3 Wednesday evenings in Romans and find ourselves at chapter 1, verse 7.
In reading Romans again, and again, over the past few weeks chapter 1, verse 5 jumped out at me. Paul declares that he has received grace and/for apostleship. God’s grace in Paul’s life gave birth to apostleship. What has God’s grace produced in your life?
Have you received grace for motherhood or fatherhood? Maybe you have received grace to be an accountant or a lawyer, or doctor, or construction worker. Here’s my point; do you see your life as a God-given vocation, or merely earning a paycheck? If you get by as a husband or father on your own power and ingenuity you have missed the whole purpose of your life, and you are probably not doing a very good job.
Paul realized that his apostleship, i.e., the thing he did, was fueled by grace. It was Jesus working through him and so Jesus deserved all the glory. Surely the task of motherhood is to nurture, feed and clothe your children, raising them to be godly adults who love Jesus. However, the big picture calling in motherhood is to glorify God in your daily tasks of mothering. The same is true in all vocations. God is glorified when farmers plow, sow and reap as an expression of God’s grace to them. Husbands glorify God when they tenderly lead their family as a grace and calling from Jesus.
In Romans 1:5 Paul invites you to consider what Jesus has given you grace to do. Are you relying on your own feeble strength or on His provision? Are you taking the credit or giving Him the glory?
