FROM THE SERVANT GENERAL
OUR THEME FOR 2020
(Part 24)
IN THE WAY OF PAUL
December 22, 2019
Today’s reading: Romans 1:1-7
Paul’s greeting to the Romans contains so much of what we are called to be and to do, and is a summary of what it means to be built on the Rock that is Christ.
First, we are “called to be holy.” (v.7b). To be holy is to be set apart. To be holy is to be “clean of hand and pure of heart” (Ps 24:4a). We have been called and chosen, anointed and appointed, sanctified and sent.
Second, we are called to be “a slave of Christ Jesus” (v.1a). We “are called to belong to Christ Jesus” (v.6). We are owned by God. As servants and slaves, we are to do only what God wills us to do. Our only priority is God’s priority. We hold nothing on our own but everything we have is God’s, to be used for His purposes. This is what it means for us as MFC to be “of Christ.”
Third, we are “called to be an apostle” (v.1b). An apostle is one who is sent. We are sent into the whole world to proclaim “the gospel about his Son” (v.3a) to every creature. We are to make disciples of all the nations. “Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles” (v.5). This is the most important work of Christians and of the Church, to proclaim the gospel of salvation in Jesus to the world. We are “set apart for the gospel of God” (v.1c). This is what it means for us as MFC to be “missionary.”
How do we summarize all the above further? We are called to be holy warriors. To be holy is to be set apart. To be a warrior is to be an apostle who is sent to engage the enemy in establishing the Kingdom of God in the world. Thus to be a holy warrior is to be set apart and sent as a servant and a soldier.
One more thing. In this war and our mission, we already have the victory of God over the enemy. Jesus crushed the head of the serpent on Calvary, when he died on the cross and on the third day rose from the dead. The One whom we follow has been “established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (v.4). Jesus is the Holy One of God in whom is all power and authority, and it is he who leads us forth into battle.
So onward, holy warriors! “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (v.7c).
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