God's Desire for Me

 

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17 ESV).

 

Several years ago when Mary and I returned to Santa Fe, Tennessee, to visit with our friends, Billy Potts asked if I’d like to go by the church and look around. Of course I jumped at the chance to visit the building where I had spent the last five years of active ministry. There are so many great memories attached to that community and church. While we walked through the buildings, he said, “Stand behind the pulpit and let me get your picture.” That is the picture you see attached here. After he took it, he went on to say, “You look like you belong there.” In many ways he was right. I have always felt that I “belonged” behind a pulpit, sharing the gospel with others.

 

In my experience as a pastor, I would not describe preaching as either easy or simply fun. But it has always been incredibly meaningful, especially when I sense that something in the message of God’s love connects with the listeners. So I can appreciate that Paul is ­eager to preach the gospel to the people he cares about in Rome. Paul is eager not because he thinks he’s so good at what he does or because he would like to headline a few perfor­mances in the empire’s capital. The reason for his eagerness comes from the fact that the gospel is the power of God. And it is power for a specific purpose.

 

The gospel is not power to get a new bill of health, or to gain the friend or spouse you desire. It’s not power for financial success or fault-free parenting. It’s not power to get to heaven when you die. It’s power for salvation. And salvation has to do with getting where we need to be in our relationship with God. Paul’s eagerness in all this is a reflection of God’s desire. God wants me to belong to him as fully as I can in the life I am now living. That’s the point of the gospel, and that is its power.

 

The Gospel is the expansive declaration that God has a desire for me, even when I tend to turn away from Him. As we continue to pick our way through these first few chapters of Romans, I hope you will come to see the “love letter” is for you. God wants YOU! He sent His only begotten Son to make that possible. The only challenge for you is to have the same eagerness for God that God has for you.