Romans 10:14-17
Scripture: Romans 10:14-17 (ESV)
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?’ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Devotion:
How does someone come to believe in Jesus? Most of us have heard stories, particularly from Muslim countries, where Jesus appears to a person in their dreams and that this dream launches a cascade of events that ultimately lead to that person’s conversion. These stories are very encouraging because they remind us about just how active God is in people’s salvation.
The problem is that we can be so encouraged by these stories of God’s direct intervention in people’s lives, that we forget that they are the exception and not the rule. Most of the time God uses a very different set of circumstances to bring people to faith.
Paul reminds us that the primary means by which people hear about Jesus, the first step in most people’s journey toward faith, is hearing the Gospel proclaimed. Faith begins with hearing, and hearing depends on the telling.
Imagine still lake early in the morning. The calm surface reflects the surrounding beauty perfectly. When a single stone is tossed into the lake, ripples flow outward from where it breaks the surface, reaching farther and farther. The gospel is like that stone, and the ripples are the spreading of its message. Without the initial splash—the preaching of the good news—there would be no ripples, no spreading of the message that can reach the hearts of those who have yet to hear.
Paul’s rhetorical questions stir us to realize that we have a role to play. We can all be people who have beautiful feet – spreading the Gospel by telling it to others. In some ways we all have a call to action, an invitation to throw that stones that creates the ripples that touch many lives.
Paul ends this section with a sad and sobering truth—not everyone will believe what they hear. This isn’t a failure on the part of the messenger but a reality of human freedom and the mystery of faith. This is oddly encouraging. It means that every one of us who has taken the chance to share the Gospel with a co-worker or friend, should expect that some or even most of them will reject the message. We should expect this kind of failure.
The point is not that we should save people – we can’t do that anyway. The point is that we should be obedient in proclaiming the message.
Who knows, they might even just listen!
Prayer:
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Lord God, thank You for the privilege of being messengers of Your good news. Grant us the courage and opportunity to share Your word with others, knowing that faith comes from hearing Your message. Help us to be faithful in casting the stone, trusting You with the ripples that reach into the hearts and lives of those around us. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge:
Today, think of one person in your life who may not have heard the gospel or fully understood it. Pray for an opportunity to share or exemplify the message of Christ to them. Remember, it’s not about converting but about communicating—the act of sharing the good news. Let your words and actions today be like the stone that creates ripples on the water, spreading the beauty and truth of the gospel.