Monday Devotional: July 31, 2023

Bible Reading: Romans 9:1-5 (NRSVUE)

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; 5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

For the apostle Paul, following Jesus meant cutting himself off from all he had known prior to his conversion on the road to Damascus.
As he writes in his letter to the Roman, Paul’s choice caused him a great deal of pain and angst. Imagine how his family and friends responded when he joined a new faith, leaving his home to travel and face persecution for following a man they believed was betraying their faith.
Paul’s choice cost him a great deal personally. He goes so far as to say he wishes he were “accursed, and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people.”
As an apostle to the Gentiles, Paul spent most of his post-conversion life as a stranger in a strange land. He was separated from his family and friends, who viewed him as a betrayer and apostate. In the lands of the Gentiles, he faced scorn and ridicule for his Jewish heritage.
Not only this, but Paul spent much of his ministry in chains and under threat of persecution, eventually being martyred for his work for the gospel.
He never could have known how his letters would become immortal, stretching around the globe for millennia, influencing generations to “know Christ, and him crucified” (I Cor. 2:2). Like Paul, some of us may be called to be cut off from our loved ones because of our faith in Jesus and our desire to follow him no matter the cost. In doing so, may we know that, though the road ahead is not easy, we are in good company. We should travel this path with great humility, prayerfulness, and love, with respect for what lies behind and in front of us.

Prayer: God, you call each one of us to places unknown. Give us patience, courage, and connection to other weary travelers, so we can continue to follow you. Amen

By Angela Denker, The Upper Room Disciplines 2023, page 260.