Ever since the creation of the world, God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.
-Romans 1:20
Paul wrote a letter to a church in Rome around 57 A.D. in order to encourage them in their faith. Paul had never been to the church in person, though he desired to someday go. So he wrote a letter. And that letter became one of the most well known pieces of literature in the history of Christianity.
In this letter, Paul describes the foundation of our Christian faith. Martin Luther, in 1515, called this letter “a gate from heaven” through which we get to know God. John Wesley, after reading this letter in 1738, said “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt that I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my salvation.”
I have been reflecting a lot on the letter to the Romans because I have committed to teaching it this summer. Every Tuesday at 7:00pm in the Meeting Room (next to the Sanctuary) a group of us will explore Paul’s letter of Romans. You are invited to join us. The study begins tonight.
I highlighted the verse above from chapter 1 verse 20 because it shows the sort of depth that is found in the pages of Romans. Here, Paul is saying that even though we cannot see God, every person on earth still has a chance to get to know God. How? That is one of the questions we will be discussing tonight.
How does God reveal himself to the world when we cannot see God with our eyes?
I bet you’ve thought about that question before. You probably have your own experiences of sensing God’s presence in a way that sight was not necessary. These are the sort of topics that Romans explores.
Summer Challenge: I encourage you to use this summer to explore a new area of your faith. It could be taking on a new spiritual discipline such as meditation, prayer, or fasting. Or it could mean studying a specific book of the Bible such as Mark, James or Romans. Or perhaps it means taking on a new service project like volunteering in the church nursery or serving at Habitat for Humanity. Whatever it is for you, I pray that God will use this summer to reveal himself to you in new ways.
