Abandoned

In today's reading, we turn to the book of Romans. What stands out to me is the sobering state of those who once knew the truth about God but rejected it and then actively worked to suppress it (Romans 1:18-19). They knew God but refused to worship Him (Romans 1:21). In their ungratefulness, they traded the knowledge of the true God for an imaginary god, one that conformed to their foolish ideas. It's not that they don't have a god; they have rejected the true and living God.

One thing this shows us is that people are incurably religious. We will worship something. Even the hardened atheist bows at the altar of something. Those who forsake the glorious, ever-living God are left with everything inferior. Their gods take on a predictable form, fashioned in the likeness of people, birds, animals, reptiles, and so on, reflecting nothing higher than what they can see or imagine. As a result, they become fools as they worship at these altars of inferiority, their minds growing dark to the truth. (Romans 1:21-23)

How does God respond to those who are so ungrateful for the truth they once knew? In God's response, we observe perhaps the most sobering and fearful form of His wrath—He does not stop them from their unbelief; He allows them to go (Romans 1:24, 26, 28). He lets them have what they desire. Unsurprisingly, their lives fill up with wickedness and evil. And to take it a step further, they are not satisfied to be alone in their pitiful state; they encourage others to do likewise.

What a reminder to treasure the truth! To not feel ashamed of the Gospel. To not trade the power of the Gospel in our lives for anything else. To express eternal gratitude to God for rescuing us from the terrible fate of being left to our sinful nature and its choices. Believer, rejoice and rest in the power of the Gospel, which has revealed to us the goodness of God. May we continue to proclaim this good news to those around us without shame.