Thursday, August 26, 2010

Romans 11:25-36; Serve Somebody

I think Paul and Bob Dylan are in agreement. Dylan once wrote "You may be an ambassador . . . you may like to gamble . . . you may like to dance . . . but your gonna have to serve somebody". As I read Paul, I think of those words. Who am I to think that I, a mere human who can't take care of himself, can direct my own affairs and independently maneuver through spiritual, everlasting decisions.

God has a plan that I will not derail. His purposes move forward despite human errors and the evil around us. Why do we as North Americans believe we are independent actors who have control of our own lives? Surely we do have areas that we can affect but in the grand scheme, we end up serving good or evil. No independence is allowed in the final analysis.

So today, I will try to be aware of how the stories of the people around me flow into the big picture of God at work. And I will work to make sure my story benefits the efforts of good . . . since my story will eventually be part of the greater story of God at work, whether it be contributing to advancing the story of God or whether it be one of the stories that God overcame in order to demonstrate his purpose. "You're gonna have to serve somebody."

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