January 17, 2024 

Today's Reading: Romans 7:21-8:17

Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 39:1-10, 17-29; Romans 7:21-8:17

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Romans 7:24–25)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Your life, dear Christian, is lived in tension. Tension is uncomfortable. It means we are pulled in two opposing directions. It puts so much strain on us that we seek to resolve the tension. While this feels good for a moment, we quickly understand that pulling too strongly one way or another can break the strand, or in this case, us. 

St. Paul describes the tension between our relationship to the law of God and the law of sin. Christians, having been made to walk in Christ, seek to do what pleases God. Sinners, however, seek after sinful desires. And we find ourselves caught in the middle of these opposing ideals, unable to relieve this tension. We cannot keep the Law of God perfectly because of the inherited sin within us, so we stray towards the way of sin, death, and the devil. However, having been baptized into Christ, we strive to do what God wills, even though we know we will ultimately fail. Our life is lived in the middle, wanting to serve God with all our body, mind, and soul, while also still living in “this body of death,” as St. Paul writes, unable and often unwilling to serve perfectly. 

There is a Latin phrase that encapsulates this tension: simul justus et peccator. This phrase translates to “simultaneously saint and sinner.” We are, as Christians, both saints and sinners. We belong fully to God through our Baptism but original sin still resides in us, meaning we cannot live according to the Law of God, as much as we’d like to. We cannot relieve this tension, it is impossible. “Thanks be to God through Christ our Lord!” God, while we were still sinners, sent His Son to die for us. God, while we were dead in our trespasses and sins, reached into our watery grave and pulled us out into new life in Baptism. God, while we still sin much, send His Holy Spirit to strengthen us as we go about our lives, seeking to do the will of God. Go forth, dear Christian, knowing that the tension is tight and tough, but that it cannot break you. Thanks be to God!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O grant that nighting in my soul may dwell, but Thy pure love alone; Oh, may Thy love possess me whole, my joy, my treasure, and my crown! All coldness from my heart remove; my ev’ry act, word, thought be love. (LSB 683:2)

-Deaconess Emma Heinz is the Registrar for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.