Romans 7:15-25a (NRSV)
Read Romans 7:15-25a on biblegateway.com
Verse 15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Verse 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. Verse 17But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. Verse 18For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. Verse 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Verse 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. Verse 21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. Verse 22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, Verse 23but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Verse 24Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Verse 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.
Devotion
Our readings this week have been examining faith. In this excerpt from the letter to the Romans, Paul spends some time discussing some of the consequences of faith. As we receive the gift of faith from God, a desire to do the things that God is calling us to do stirs up in us. I often find myself following the same pattern of thought as Paul. I want to live righteously, but my innate selfishness and ignorance keep getting in the way. How can we trust ourselves to know what is good or evil? If we are not careful, we can fall into a rabbit hole of complacency. God is calling us to act! The basic notions of that call are to love God and to love our neighbors—or to love God by loving our neighbors. Let us not lose the ability to trust that God can and is doing wonderful things through us.
Prayer
Ever-loving God, create in us discerning hearts so that we can more clearly understand your will for our lives. Open our minds to your ways and guide our everyday work to live in love and service. Amen.