Observation: After establishing that nobody can really make themselves completely righteous before God by doing what the law says (because everyone has sinned) Paul lifts up faith in Jesus Christ as the way to make the relationship right. Except...the Greek case of this phrase (the genitive case, if you care) which Paul uses over and over again to describe faith in Jesus Christ, might also mean the faith OF Jesus Christ. No big deal. Just a wholesale rethinking of the relationship between faith and Jesus, and who the faith actually belongs to.
Application: Faith is the whole ballgame for me. Faith doesn't mean my ability to hold theological, historical and/or archaeological ideas in my head and defend them against any questioning. Faith means trusting in Jesus with my life, and making my daily decisions as though he is actually in charge of it. Faith is the way God saves me, not just from sin and death, but from my own ignorance, fear and selfishness. Faith is the lifeline between myself and God. Sometimes I feel it strongly, often I don't. Sometimes it's concrete and powerful, other times it's a little more abstract.
But this next bit is important: as much as I'd love to take credit for having faith, the faith I believe in is "the faith of Jesus". To the extent that I can give my life over to God, even that ability actually comes from God. I can't claim ownership of it. My faith is not a personal possession. It's from God.
Prayer: God, thank you for the faith of Jesus. Thank you for my faith in Jesus. Be with anyone struggling with faith today. Comfort them and surround them with understanding and loving people. And also, Lord, be with those of us who think we've got this faith thing figured out. Challenge us. I know I'll regret saying this, but maybe mess with us a little, as a humbling reminder that this whole journey belongs to you. Amen.
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