God Gave Them Up

September 12, 2017

God Gave Them Up

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done.

Romans 1:28 NRSV

Read: Romans 1:28-32

Recently, a politician noted how he longed for a world where a very strong central government would direct the day to day reality for each individual. The government would determine your needs and make housing assignments based on those determinations. This micro-control of the individual is the antithesis of how God relates to humankind.

The Apostle Paul makes this point through the phrase, “God gave them up” (verse 28, NRSV). This is not God saying, “I give up on them.” Rather, God is giving them the latitude to follow their own sinful desires. Such is the nature of God’s love; God does not force humankind to love Him or to follow His ways.

Interestingly, whether you are a follower of God or not, your relationship with others is similar. Paul asserts that the evil doers encourage others to do evil also. (Romans 1:32) So also, those who have been blessed by God generously share the Good News with others.

My Takeaway: When Cheryl and I returned from Seattle a few weeks ago, we looked forward to every opportunity to share with others stories of our wonderful vacation. May I be even more eager to share with others the many stories of my personal experiences living in God’s favor and blessings!

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2017 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.