By Prem Lee.
Romans 1 : 1 -7
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. [NIV]
Everyone wants a powerful God. A God who can do any miracle to help and bless me. A Santa Claus carrying gifts of wealth, health and success in His bag. So, when God becomes an anti-hero, it puzzles people and it becomes a God who is weak rather than powerful.
But Jesus comes as an anti-hero, crucified on a cross with criminals - it becomes difficult for some people to accept Him as God. There are many illustrations of the heroic power of Jesus in His life and ministry, but His death came as an anti-climax.
God had to rescue us from our separation from God. God had to break the wall that kept us away from God. That wall was the guilt of sin, which had to be dealt with. The only way of dealing with it was the perfect sacrifice. To become that perfect sacrifice, Jesus had to become an anti-hero and die on the cross. This released the power of God into the world as the Holy Spirit raised Him from the dead by His power (Romans 1:4). Through that, the Holy Spirit becomes available for all who commit their lives to Jesus and so transform their lives from one sold to sin into one bought for victory over sin (Romans 1:6).
Not only are we given a victory over sin, but we are commissioned to be His messengers and workers in His kingdom (Romans 1:5). We have a purpose in life and a meaningful life.