“18-23 But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.”
Romans 1: 18-23 MSG – A verse of the day from the Bible presented in Eugene Peterson’s contemporary version called The Message. Accompanied by a personal reflection below.
So, here’s Paul saying, well, don’t think God is just going to sit by and condone your poor form and pretend to not take notice of your erring ways and your willful wrong-doing. Nay, he is not going to do that. So, call it what you will, but God is going to make his displeasure known if you continue to turn your back on him. This is the reality of things, Paul is reminding his Jewish brethren. And perhaps there is a lesson in there for us as well. Have you had a chance to accept the free and full grace of God? And what has been your response?
