Romans 1:1-7

“through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name,” vs. 5

Paul was surprised at his life as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Such a calling was far from his mind in the early years when he had viciously persecuted Christians in Jerusalem. But he had been called, and had since devoted his life to proclaiming a gospel of grace to the Gentiles. Everything was about grace for Paul, and he stubbornly resisted any attempts to link salvation to the law. Of course that didn’t mean he considered obedience to be unimportant…nothing made him more angry than followers of Jesus who felt free to do as they pleased. But grace was where everything started…it was the cornerstone of the good news. Like Paul, some of us may have been surprised by our calling to be followers of Jesus. It might not have been a part of our plan in younger years… we may even have rejected the faith of our parents for a time. But somewhere along the line grace broke through and we realized the wonder of life in Christ…and with the gift has come a new calling, a commissioning as apostles to share the gift with others. These Advent moments of meditation serve to refuel our mission and revitalize our faith. The gift of grace is priceless…and we’ve been called to pass it on!
Thought for the Day: How am I living out my calling?