Contemplative Bible Reading

Romans 1:5 (New International Version 2010)

Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.

Fascinating combination of words:

• obedience
• faith

Faith: I haven’t seen anything from the natural sciences to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, yet I believe.

Obedience: Hence, my belief leads me in my life.

This doesn’t make sense from any sort of logic or rational perspective. I can see lives changed by a faith in Jesus as the Christ. Those changed lives influence my faith. I can look around me and see a world that  defies the probabilities of science. The against-the-odds wonders of our world influence my faith.

Still, in the end, I believe something that I cannot see and cannot prove. And I believe it enough to alter my “natural instincts,” whatever that means, and live differently.