I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate (vs. 15).
Monday morning I came to the church as usual but this time went straight to the sanctuary where the day before, in worship, I had encouraged the congregation to write on Post-It notes simple acts of obedience that they feel called to practice and place these on or in the baptismal font as a sign of their commitment to follow Christ. The scripture that day had been from Romans 6 where Paul proclaims that through baptism we are freed from sin and enslaved to God. A slave obeys the master. This seems offensive and anachronistic to us; we value individual freedom quite highly and are repulsed by the institution of slavery. Yet Paul was surrounded by it and found it to be an apt metaphor for the free life lived in the Spirit. Paradoxical, I know.
As I prayerfully read the notes, even the soggy one I fished out of the water, I was moved by the strong spiritual aspirations reflected in these commitments. We do want to align ourselves with God's work of shalom in the world. We do want to heed the call and be God's ministers of healing and reconciliation in a broken world. We want to be obedient.
But obedience is difficult. Paul knows that. He is not kidding himself or others with this talk of enslavement. Romans 7 attests to that. As you read this text, note the confusion and powerlessness expressed by Paul. Can you remember a time when you experienced the same thing? You know what you should do, but doing it is just so hard!
As you read this text, identify the good news amid this confusion and powerlessness. Put that on the biggest Post-It note you can find and please don't ever, ever forget it.
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