Looking for them, we can read about God, about Christ, and about the Holy Spirit in these verses. We usually are focusing on the "justified by faith" part--as opposed to being justified in any other less satisfactory way. This week we focus on how that happens--that our justification by (or our faith in?) God comes through Christ. Christ models for us suffering and the product of suffering. Further, the means of that process occurs because the Holy Spirit pours God's love into our hearts.
Repeat from WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008
Peace, Hope, Love, Thinking about Romans 5 while reading the newspaper
I read Paul's words about suffering and hope. I read about God's love for sinners. And then I read a couple of stories in the newspaper that seemed to be examples of this message.
The headline is "Vermont: Poetry Classes for Vandals." Twenty-eight young people broke into Robert Frost's house, got drunk, and damaged the place. The prosecuter has asked Jay Parini, a Frost biographer, who believes in the redemptive power of poetry, to lead them in a study of Frost's life and work. The New York Times, June 3, 2008, page A21.
The headline is "Where Illegal Guns Can Do No More Harm." In New York City, thousands of firearms are taken by law enforcement officers each year. Instead of crushing and burying them, they are crushing and re-using them. They have found a way to turn spears into plowshares. Guns are sent to scrap processing plants to be chopped up into tiny pieces and sent to foundries from New Jersey to China. The former firearms will be ultimately be used to build water pipes, chain link fences, or appliances. The New York Times, June 3, 2008, page A22.
No comments:
Post a Comment