The Mercies of God
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
[Romans 12:1]
Chapter 12 marks a major turn in the flow of Romans. For eleven
chapters, Paul has explained how God’s own righteousness leads us into a
right relationship with him through Christ. Now he begins to spell out
some of the real-life implications of this good news. If we take
seriously Romans 1-11, then everything in our lives will be different,
as Romans 12-16 will begin to clarify. Chapters 1-11 say: “Here is the
good news.” Chapters 12-16 say: “Now live it!”
The first words of Romans 12 make it very clear that our living as Christians is necessarily and permanently connected to the good news of God’s love in Christ. The original Greek of these words can be rendered: “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, because of the mercies of God . . .” “Therefore” binds chapters 11-16 to chapters 12-16, the theological to the ethical, the theoretical to the practical. “Mercies of God” sums up the first part of Romans in a short phrase. Through Christ, God has shown the richness of his mercy to all people, to Jews and to Gentiles...and to you and me.
The opening of Romans 12 urges us not to do as so many Christians have done, and turn the Christian life into a long list of dos and don’ts that have little to do with God’s love in Christ. Rather, we are to live out our faith in response to the mercies of God. We walk each day in the confidence of God’s grace, knowing in advance that he loves us. Our good works are a response to that love, never a means to earn it. Thus the Christian life is not a heavy burden, but the light yoke of Jesus, lived in joyful acceptance of God’s daily mercies.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: When you think of God’s “mercies,” what comes to mind? How have you experienced God’s mercy in your life? How does your daily life as a Christian reflect God’s mercy in Christ?
The first words of Romans 12 make it very clear that our living as Christians is necessarily and permanently connected to the good news of God’s love in Christ. The original Greek of these words can be rendered: “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, because of the mercies of God . . .” “Therefore” binds chapters 11-16 to chapters 12-16, the theological to the ethical, the theoretical to the practical. “Mercies of God” sums up the first part of Romans in a short phrase. Through Christ, God has shown the richness of his mercy to all people, to Jews and to Gentiles...and to you and me.
The opening of Romans 12 urges us not to do as so many Christians have done, and turn the Christian life into a long list of dos and don’ts that have little to do with God’s love in Christ. Rather, we are to live out our faith in response to the mercies of God. We walk each day in the confidence of God’s grace, knowing in advance that he loves us. Our good works are a response to that love, never a means to earn it. Thus the Christian life is not a heavy burden, but the light yoke of Jesus, lived in joyful acceptance of God’s daily mercies.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: When you think of God’s “mercies,” what comes to mind? How have you experienced God’s mercy in your life? How does your daily life as a Christian reflect God’s mercy in Christ?
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