Romans 1- Spreading like Wildfire

You know how a good rumor spreads fast? In middle school if a rumor got started it only took about half a day for it to spread within our school (admittedly I attended a very small school where kindergarten through 8th were all in the same building and totaled about 200 kids). Then, it wasn't long after, if the news was big, the parents would all find out that evening. The reason is that news can spread like wildfire.

"I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world" (vs. 8).

What was it about the Romans that caused a worldwide report? There are obviously many factors that must have contributed, including Rome's influence and communication etc... But I do not want to overlook the simple fact that the Roman Christians must have been doing something incredibly right. How could we become more like them?

I think one hindrance we may have is that we segregate our lives. We do work stuff at work, home stuff at home, friend stuff when with friends, and church stuff at church. Our lives our disjointed. Think for a moment what your non-christian friends would think if they saw you at a worship service... they may be weirded out because that is not the same person they usually see. What we need is to allow the gospel to permeate every sphere of our lives. We need to let our faith in Jesus come through in every way in every opportunity.

Shouldn't the work of Christ in our lives be a normal part of our conversation? Wouldn't it make sense to pray before we go to work that the Gospel would be spoken about by us and demonstrated by godly character and holiness? Wouldn't it be cool if God used you on your campus or place of work to be a newsworthy messenger of the Gospel?

Our lives should be a demonstration of faith. Our decisions, actions, attitudes, deeds, and words should all build on one another to prove our faith in Jesus Christ.

Rome was a community of faith that was living out their trust in Jesus in a way that was noteworthy... and I want to be a part of a community of faith like that. When the gospel gets traction in our lives it will be some big news. It will spread like wildfire in our community and throughout the region and even to the world. If we will let the gospel dominate our lives, the world will be dominated with the message of Christ.

Lord, help us to become people that exhibit faith in You. Help our lives to be a message of faith that is noteworthy enough to be talked about. Let the message spread from hear to the ends of the earth. Jesus make us your people. Amen