Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

Paul’s marriage analogy begins with a wife who is obligated to her husband as long as he is alive. My wife, Grace, and I are committed to one another “until death do us part.” If I should die, then she is released and freed. The same would be true for me if Grace died. But if I had another wife while she was living, or she had another husband while I was living, then that would violate the law and the covenant.

In Scripture, when God talks to the Church, He often uses the language of family. There are many images in the Bible for the Church, but one of my favorites is the church family. Spiritually, we are brothers because Jesus is our big Brother, and God is our Father.

Paul talks about husbands, wives, and marriage. Sometimes, you have multiple families you’re involved in. For example, Grace has her family of origin—her extended family. I have my extended family. Together, we’ve got our immediate family, and then, in addition, we have our church family.

If people don’t know Jesus, then they don’t understand the new family. What is curious is how the New Testament uses this language of brothers (and sisters), but in the ancient Roman Empire (the capital to which this epistle was written), it was actually illegal. Inheritance, estates, and property were tied to family. You weren’t allowed to declare anyone “family” unless they had legally become a member of your family because it confused the legal distribution of wealth from generation to generation. But when you meet God and join His family, you love each other so much that sometimes you feel even closer to fellow Christians (family by new birth and the blood of Jesus) than you do to your biological relatives (family by physical birth and blood). This doesn’t mean we hate our families of origin, but it means that the family of God feels even more like family.

When you’re married, you’re obligated to your spouse for long as you’re both alive. As soon as one of you dies, then the obligations of the relationship come to an end. Paul says we all start married to the law. Then, when Jesus died, He fulfilled our obligations to the law. We are freed from the law, and now we are free to be married to God and live under grace.

Today’s Reflection

What is your favorite aspect of being part of God’s family?