Today's Scripture Reading (April 16, 2024): Romans 1
In the mid-eighties,
my wife and I were starting our lives together. We had moved to a small town
and were living in this four-plex thing. It was basically a duplex with
basement suites. Nelda and I lived on the top floor of the South end of the
duplex. I was working at the local Toyota dealership when Toyota released a
Toyota Tercel Coupe. Now, Nelda and I already owned a Tercel, but it wasn't a
coupe and these things looked good. My wife and I didn't have kids yet, so we
talked, and she let me order the car. I ordered my Tercel Coupe directly from
Japan. I would have to wait months for it, but that was okay. When it arrived,
it would be red with a sunroof and the exact mix of options I wanted. I was
pumped. I was counting the months, weeks, and days until my car arrived.
Between the
time that I ordered the car and the day that the vehicle was scheduled to show
up, a couple of things changed in my home life. First, my wife and I started to
look to buy a house; the time had come to stop renting and own our home.
Now, my car
was getting close. The ship from Japan was about to reach port when a guy from
Toyota phoned me. He had noticed that there was a car coming to Vancouver that
had my name on it. And he asked, is this car for you? Yes, it was. He pushed it
a little. Were you bringing it in to be your demo? No, this was a car that I was
purchasing. I had lovingly chosen every option and the color, and I was
anxiously waiting for it to show up.
The representative
from Toyota continued, "Well, we have another buyer for it; it is exactly
what this person wants." And I'm thinking, no surprise there, I am a
person of good taste. Do you want to let it go, or even let this guy have it,
and you can order another one from Japan?
It was not
what I wanted to hear; I had waited long enough. I wanted my Red Toyota Tercel
with the sunroof, air conditioning, the high-level factory stereo system, and black
fabric seats. I had been waiting for months for this car to arrive.
A few days
after that phone call, my wife and I found the house we wanted. It wasn't far
from where we had been living. The house sat on a wide lot with a huge backyard
for our kids to play in. Oh, and my wife found out she was pregnant. We had a
problem. We really couldn't afford both the car and the house. I had a decision
to make.
So, I told
Nelda, "I know you want the house, but I want my car, and that is the most
important thing to me." So, I forgot about the house and bought my car. (I
am joking.) I did the mature thing; sometimes, acting like an adult hurts. I
phoned up Toyota and told them they could have my dream car. I didn't even get
to see the car. Other things were more important to me.
Listen to
what Paul says: I am obligated and indebted. Paul's debt was present in two
ways. First, Paul was indebted to God.
It was God who had come down to him. God had stopped his hand. The words that
Jesus spoke on the Road to Damascus were, "Paul, why are you persecuting
me." God made sure that Paul realized that this was personal. The actions
that he had taken had hurt God. I don't think anyone at the time or even in our
time thought that was possible.
Paul was also indebted to people. He was
indebted both vertically and horizontally. Paul's actions had hurt God, but
they had also hurt people's ability to recognize that they needed to come to
God. So, Paul says he is obligated under that debt to preach the Gospel. What
used to be important is no longer essential; his circumstances have changed.
We are in
debt. We have hurt God and people; maybe we need a Damascus Road experience. Our
lifestyle, things that perhaps we haven't even thought about, has caused harm
to someone else's walk with God. Not only are we in debt, but just like me with
the house and car, we are in debt to the point where we can't afford another
debt. We need to become focused only on God. And we need to recognize our
obligation to share the Gospel.
Tomorrow's Scripture
Reading: Romans 2
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