Last night I read the first two chapters of Romans. This morning I read the next two chapters. It might be my second most favorite book but it really is hard to tell because all the books become so alive. This morning as I read Romans 4:17, I was struck by something.
Romans 4:17 – (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”). He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed—the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.
I have always felt awe when I read this verse. God can summon things that do not yet exist as though they already do. The mere idea is just awe inspiring in my mind. I have been back to this verse alone just to feel that awe. This morning I saw the God who makes the dead alive and the awe was even more overwhelming because that’s what God did for me. I was dead in my transgressions and now I am alive in Him (Ephesians 2).
I did not want to leave that verse. I just wanted to stare at it but I had to move on. There are so many dead people walking around that need the gift of life that God gives through Jesus Christ. So many…