Romans 13

Growing up, one of my favorite things to do was to go fishing with my dad on a family ranch in Oklahoma.  A good fisherman knows that in order to catch the best fish, one must be prepared to cast his first line at daybreak.  Therefore, on the morning of these trips we would wake several hours before sun up.  If it was any other morning, I would fight to stay in bed, but on these mornings my excitement would usually wake me when I heard my dad’s footsteps coming up the stairs.  There were so many things to do before we could set out on our adventure.  We needed a good breakfast for early morning energy, and we packed snacks to sustain us throughout the challenges of the day.  To ensure a successful trip, we would load the car with our best fishing attire, poles, tackle, and bait.  Once all our preparation was complete, we set out in the early morning hours for what was always a day of great joy.

Romans 9-11

Romans 9 (Melita Bryan)

This chapter brings to my mind a good father, who at the sunset of life looks at each of his offspring.  After decades of tending for the needs of his children, teaching them and loving them, this good father knows his children. Imagine this man looking into the eyes of each child and the volumes that would unfold in his mind. Lifetime’s of memory. Successes, failures, tragedies, betrayals, disappointments, pride, greed, contentment, he has seem so much. What must a father think? The sweat and tears. Sleepless nights. The effort of parenting. It is a hugh amount of work, but add to that effort the care and concern that one has for their children to do right and be right.  It is an enormous task.  So many years of hard work.

If this father is like our Father God who is spoken of in 9^th chapter of Romans, he has great care for those children who have embraced his values and who reflect his spirit. He cares not that they are his biologically, that they have the family nose or knobby knees. He cares that they have the life and soul of the family that is expressed in their values and behavior.  The reward is to the son that carries the traits that are of his own heart and choosing, not those given by a DNA code. And so, when the will is read and the piggy bank is distributed, the father looks around and says in no uncertain terms, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and compassion on whom I will have compassion.”  The end. Period.  “It’s my choice and I am the father.  I do not have to, nor will I, give answer to you children.”  And the father goes on to say, “Further more, I am going to give some to the neighbor’s kids. I will call them mine even if, they are not.”

Romans 7  

Romans 7:1-6 (Rachel Cooke)