My first job in ministry was leading student ministry. The senior pastor of that church was a great mentor to me. We had a weekly time when I went to his office at the end of the workday and just asked him questions about life and ministry.
As I read today’s verses in Romans, I remembered the story of how God called that senior pastor into ministry. His plan was to be a lawyer. He was accepted into a prestigious law school on the East Coast and began his studies. But God had an alternate route in mind.
As much as he loved his studies, something in him kept thinking about the possibility of going to seminary and becoming a pastor. He found a church to worship and got plugged into the life of that congregation. During one Bible study, he stumbled across this verse:
The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6).
He laughed as he recalled the story because some translations of this verse say, “the law kills; the Spirit gives life.” (Note: This is not an indictment on attorneys or anyone in the legal profession!)
Paul says something similar in our passage in Romans 7:10: “the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead.”
When it comes to faith, it’s so easy for us to get the life sucked out of us. It’s so easy to focus on the wrong things or lose focus on faith entirely.
What wonderfully good news it is to remember that the whole point of faith is to give us life. Who among us would not want an even more abundant life today than we are experiencing? And, of course, we want the assurance of eternal life.
Paul tells us in Romans 7 that the law plays a role when it comes to faith. You know what else plays a role when it comes to faith? Delight!
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires (Psalm 37:4).
Perhaps it’s time to drop out of law school and delightfully enroll in the school of the Spirit!
Reflection:
- What fills you with delight? Make a list of 10 things that fill you with delight. Throughout the day, see if you can expand that list to 25.
- What would it look like for you to “take delight in the Lord”?
- As you think about your life of faith, is it easier for you to focus on following the rules or being led by the Spirit? Why do you suppose that is?