But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says,“Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” – Romans 10:8-13
Today’s Reading: Psalms 77-78; Romans 10
Yesterday I talked about why I believe in God… I spoke about how I see God in everything no matter how bad things get. There is always something that I can look to that provides me with evidence of God’s love, purpose and existence.
Coincidentally (if you believe in coincidences) we have come across one of those key verses of Christianity: Romans 10:9-10. It’s one that is often quoted. Whether or not you are a Christian you have probably heard it:
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
There is a deeper meaning here that the casual reader may not see. For the past few chapters Paul has been setting up these verses. He has talked about the imperfection of human beings and how we cannot live up to the standard of any laws. No matter how hard we try we cannot be perfect. And as the rules dictate, everyone must pay a cost for the mistakes we make. Then he talks about how Jesus came to be that payment, the perfect sacrifice to end all sacrifices.
But what is the underlying theme here? What is compelling about all this spiritual mumbo jumbo?
For me it is Grace.
Grace, in this sense, is defined as unmerited favor. It is the notion that one can receive something and not deserve it.
I too believe that I am not perfect and that there is no possible way I can achieve perfection on my own. I also believe that God is perfect. So, how can I possibly connect with something that is perfect?
I imagine it like having a glass of pure, clean water. That is God. That is perfection. And imperfection is like a drop of red dye. No matter how small the drop it will corrupt the entire glass. If any imperfection is to come into contact with perfection then what was once perfect will be rendered imperfect.
So how do I connect with God, be “at one” with God, when I am the one bringing the imperfection? I cannot do it through my actions because I can never hope to be perfect. What qualifies me? What makes me special?
Nothing at all of my doing…
But what’s’ interesting about the Jesus story is that He claims to have bridged the gap. Through His life and death and rising again he paid the price of imperfection and became that bridge that I can cross to reach God.
Ok fine Clarence. You just inundated me with all these ridiculous fairytales. So go on, why is it important to you to believe this stuff?
Well for me, my faith represents taking a step across that bridge. Sure I am imperfect and God is perfect. And sure the whole Jesus thing may be this bridge that connects the two; but if I don’t take the leap of faith then I will never cross that bridge.
I can never get to where I want to go if I don’t first take the steps necessary to get there.
So that’s what it is for me in a nutshell. I know that I am imperfect. I believe that God is perfect. And for me, my faith in Jesus is what bridges that gap. This faith is the firm ground that I can walk on as I embark on the path of the purpose for my life.
With each leap of faith I take one step closer to God, and one step closer to the man that I am becoming.
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