Romans 2:6-11 - Daily Devotion - 9 June 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

6 God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”7 To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.

9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek. 11 For God does not show favoritism.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Jess Chow

This week I learnt the origin of the term “goody two-shoes”. It’s from an old English children’s story about an orphan girl who is so poor she only has one shoe. However, she persistently does good and as a result, one day she is gifted a pair of shoes by someone she does good for. She runs around excitedly telling people she now has two shoes – hence, goody two shoes! In the time of that story’s publication, it served as an uplifting moral tale about the theme of doing good; yet in our own time, the expression “goody two shoes” is an insult. We often view “doing good” as for the weak and naive, not the strong. Doing good today can feel unrewarded, especially when selfishness seems to be the way to get ahead, but today’s passage reminds me that doing good should be the shape of my life as a Christian.

A little later in Romans, it’s going to become clear that ALL have sinned and deserve condemnation, so eternal life can’t be earned by doing good. But when I turn my eyes upon God who alone is good, and the good life of Jesus – who obeyed His Father perfectly and sacrificed his life for me when I wasn't good – then doing good is following Him, becoming more like Him.

I like that the passage says doing good happens “by perseverance” – it’s often not the quickest path that a self-seeking person might take; and it doesn’t often seem to achieve success when wickedness seems to prosper. But this passage makes the reality of things in God’s eyes very clear. He promises glory and honour to those who pursue a life of good, which may not be fully realised in this life, but the promise is of immortality and eternal life with Him.

So brothers and sisters, may we stay connected to the One who is truly good and by His grace persevere in doing good as we follow Christ.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jess is a member of our Fairfield morning congregation.