In the opening verses of Romans, Paul demonstrates a passion for two things: the Church and the Gospel.  I will admit, I don’t measure up to Paul’s passion.  None of us do!  But the real comparison ought to be with Jesus, not Paul.  How does our love for the Church and the Gospel compare with Christ’s love?  Not that it’s a competition, but it is a concern.  Why don’t we love the right things?  And why don’t we love the right things with the right intensity?  We’re not right.  And that’s why we need the Gospel that we don’t love enough.  Paul says that in the Gospel “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith” (1:17).  By faith, we are counted as righteous.  By faith, we are right with God, despite all that’s wrong with us.  And the more we live in view of God’s mercy, the more we will learn to love God’s Church and God’s Gospel.