Called
By Kristi Woods
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—” Romans 1:1
The power of Romans 1:1 might easily slip by us. After all, it’s the first verse in the book of Romans, an opening and beginning, somewhat like a throat clearing to gather attention. When we dig into the words, however, and focus on each one, faith muscles flex.
Three strong words fill the space of today’s verse: servant, called, and set apart. All focus on an even stronger name: Jesus Christ.
It’s easy to live life focusing on the tasks at hand. I’m a “doer” by nature. I love to check tasks off my list. It helps me feel accomplished and fulfilled.
But I have to be careful.
I sometimes get distracted. I forget the magnitude of being called and set apart. I become a servant of works versus my Savior.
True fulfillment doesn’t come in the form of a completed task list. It fails to fall in our accomplishments, too. It comes when we walk in the fear of the Lord, when we serve the King of kings, Jesus Christ.
Looking at today’s verse, as simple as it seems, we see a mountain-sized portion of hope and courage.
Like Paul and others who believe in Jesus, we serve the Lord of lords. We have acceptance in His grace. We deem sufficient the free gift of our Savior’s love. And He counts us as love-worthy.
As servants of Jesus, we no longer serve powers of darkness. Our calling stands firm. So does this truth: we’re set apart for the gospel of God.
Let’s live today as servants of Christ, women who are called for His purpose, and set apart by a loving God.
Kristi Woods a Wholly Loved Ministries team member and former pew sitter, longs to see women transform from Sunday pew sitters to Monday through Sunday worshipers. Kristi, a writer and speaker, blogs regularly and offers faith-building tools for walking deeper with God at www.KristiWoods.net. She contributes monthly at iBelieve.com and Crosswalk.com and is published in various Chicken Soup for the Soul publications. Kristi, her husband, and their three children survived a nomadic, military lifestyle, and have set roots in Oklahoma. Connect with Kristi at KristiWoods.net.
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