ROAMING IN ROMANS
Existential Angst
My three year old grandson was experiencing the acrimonious separation of his mother and father. His mother took him to visit some friends. He asked the host this staggering question: “Who do you belong to?” The host looked astonished and laughingly responded: “That is a very theological question.” The three year old was terribly earnest and followed up with another zinger: “Do you belong here?”
This three year old was caught up in the turmoil of family strife, he was disorientated and the pain of his restless heart came out in those two existential questions. At the tumultuous heart of every being lies the agony of those two questions: “Who do you belong to?” “Do you belong here?” When the gospel extends peace to us, it is setting our hearts at rest concerning those two fundamental existential issues. God is wrapping His arms around us to say: “You belong to me.” “You are at home in my Presence.”
The Apostle Paul starts his letter to the Romans with this gigantic phrase: “Grace and Peace to you.” Those two concepts address the existential questions troubling every heart.
Grace
Readers of Romans are not goaded to find peace, as if it were at the end of some obstacle course as a prize or reward for accomplishments. Peace is imparted as a gift. And that is the meaning of grace. Grace gives what we cannot earn. Our response to grace is often downright disbelief. We cannot fathom how we can possibly be given such a spectacular present. It is too good to be true. So we ask, correctly, “Is this a hoax?”
“Mow the lawn,” says a younger sister. “Who says?” is the belligerent retort. Should I act on the information or can I simply ignore it? “Dad says!” brings an immediate obedience. “I say!” would bring a sneering jeer of contempt.
“Grace and Peace to you.” “Who says?”
The Apostle says, and he has provided ample evidence that he has been commissioned by God to be His direct spokesman, therefore God says.
Peace
Distill every desire in your heart, and the residue will be peace. We crave it for our world, our neighborhood, our families and our hearts.
How will we achieve peace, this universally intense desire?
Two solutions come to mind:
The first is daunting.
Work for it. Organize and invest and strive and labor. Understand the system of rewards and punishments and work hard to enjoy peace as a reward. The trouble is that many things are beyond my control. Life requires co-operation and some that I need may be dancing to different music. Others are inept and keep treading on my toes. Circumstances often dictate nasty twists of destiny, and inner turmoil is generated by emotions that I cannot always control. Peace is an eel with a soaped skin. Just when I think I have a grip on it, it slithers out of my grasp.
The second is delightful.
Peace is a gift. Peace is not at the mercy of emotions, other people or circumstances. It is not an onward search, promoted by self-effort. It is the result of a relationship with God, the gift of his friendship. Security and satisfaction are nowhere else to be found. It cannot be engineered. So the promise of Christ is different to popular conceptions. “Peace I give unto you … not as the world gives,” he says. He promises it and also provides it. It is there for the taking. How do you accept a gift of friendship? With gratitude you accept the invitation to walk and talk together.
Notice once more how Paul phrases the concept. He does not exhort us to obtain peace. It is an impartation of grace and not an incitement. He can only do that because peace is the gift that grace bestows. Life with all its sin and strain is in constant interplay with grace that leads to peace. Without the stress and pain there could be no appreciation of the grace of peace. The greater the stress, the more we lean on him and the deeper our friendship becomes.
Reflections
In what areas of your life are you struggling with the enjoyment of peace?
How have you sought to find peace in the past? How successful have you been?
When offered a gift that is non-tangible, how do you go about accepting it?
Does the offer constitute the enjoyment of the gift, or is there some responsibility for the recipient to exercise?
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