This morning I spent some time reading through several chapters of Paul's letter to the Romans. It is always good to be able to read large swaths of scripture and let the grander flow of thoughts and perspective be revealed. So often I just read a few verses and reflect on them, but I find it very helpful to read either the whole letter, or several chapters. Anyway, after reading several chapters the following verses caught my attention, and will be my reflection point today - Romans 15:17-21 NIV:
[17] Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. [18] I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done--- [19] by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. [20] It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. [21] Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”
My most recent blog reflection had to do with Paul's statements about proclaiming the Gospel with Power and the Holy Spirit, and again that seems to be my reflection point this morning. Paul, is very quick to point to the fact that it is not him, but Christ working through him, and the power of the Holy Spirit that enables him to be effective. It is through the power of signs and wonders and the Holy Spirit, that he has fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
I love how Paul has a strong sense of what he is called to do in service to God. In the previous chapters he was reflecting on how the stubbornness of the Jews opened the door for the Gospel to be preached to the gentiles, and that was his specific call, to the gentiles. It is interesting to note that this was not his original focus or thought, but rather something that was developed over time (See Act 18), and confirmed in several instances (Acts 22:19-21). It is helpful to me to know that Paul's mission and service to the Lord developed and matured.
I believe the Lord works with us in the realm of our understanding, and that His revelation to us is constantly calling us forward in understanding and clarity. In other words, our understanding of God's purpose and plan for our life gains clarity the longer we walk with Him. He speaks to us and gives us understanding as we can grasp it. It is like being taught mathematics in school - we don't start with differential equations and calculus, but rather learn the basics and then each following revelation is built on the previous. In this way, our walk with the Lord could be described as progressive revelation, as we progress He reveals more.
Finally, I like how Paul had ambition in his following after the Lord. He says here it was always his ambition to preach where the Gospel had not yet been heard (verse 20). However, we also know from the record in Acts that Paul always submitted his ambition to the direction of the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6-10). It is good to dream and purpose things in the Kingdom, but these are not always in line with God's purposes, so we must allow for direction and guidance, and constant tweaking of our vision, knowing that what we think and understand will change as we grow in the Lord.
There are several times in my life where I heard something from the Lord and thought I knew what He was saying. As I continued to follow Him, I found that what I thought I knew was actually only part of the fullness of what God meant. In fact, pretty much every time I hear something I try to understand it within my present context, and I am always wrong in what I think it meant and what it actually meant. This doesn't discourage me, rather it creates in me a desire to know God more, to see and hear Him more clearly. It creates in me a constant checking of course and purpose and looking to Him for additional clarity. This might seem counter-productive, but I find it is much more efficient than me thinking I know what the Lord means, doing something, finding out its wrong, having to undo, and then rework things. I guess you could say that ambition must be coupled with humility to be successful, in the Kingdom of God.
In summary, I am encouraged to continue to pursue the Lord, to look to the working of the Holy Spirit, to be open to signs and wonders, and ultimately to seek the Lord's direction, guidance and clarification.
Amen!
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