I was recently reading a passage from Romans (chapter 9: 30-32)
“What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place.But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded.Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path.”
Do we sometimes try too hard?
Years ago, I was a campanologist – that’s bellringing, not the study of tents! I joined our local bellringers for weekly practice for about three years, but I never quite got the hang of it (pardon the pun!) Part of my problem was that I tried too hard – I either was so anxious that I came in too early, or was worried I would come in early that I missed my turn.
Do we sometimes try too hard with our faith? We stick to the rules, so that the rules then stick to us and it blocks our relationship with God. A bit like having a dinner party where important guests are invited and you spend so much time making sure everything is perfect, that no-one is missed out, that everyone gets a mention, that there is no time simply to relax and enjoy the occasion.
Do we sometimes worry, have we got the right hymns, have I remembered to include the Lord’s Prayer, will the technology work, is there anyone who needs special mention in the prayers, that we lose sight of simply being in the presence of God and talking to Him.
We have an informal time of prayer before Sunday Worship when a small group of us meet to pray together. A few weeks ago, we had been chatting over events in our lives over the previous week and suddenly realised we had very little time left to pray. But do you know what? God was there in our conversations, he was listening to our concerns, he was part of our group in relationship with us.
The Gentiles were not trying to put themselves right with God, but because they believed they were right, whereas the Jews were so busy obeying the rules and following the rituals that they stumbled over Jesus when he came.
Prayer: Father God, thank you that believing in you brings us closer to you. Thank you that Jesus is our Saviour and not our stumbling block, and that it is through faith in Him that we are saved. AMEN