An enterprising painter contracted to paint a house. Times were hard and he was not making enough money, so he decided to save money by cutting the paint with water. He felt guilty but the more he thinned the paint, the further the paint went. So he kept thinning the paint more and more. Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck near him and he heard a voice from heaven say, “Repaint, and thin no more.” Bad joke. I know. Early in the morning. I’m sorry.
How does God get us to turn from our sin? Does he strike us with lightning? All possible means are at his disposal, so what does he do? He lavishes us with love. Paul makes a list of sins practiced in the ancient Roman world which sound a lot like the world we live in. Three times Paul says, “God gave them over . . .” He didn’t want them to sin in those ways, but after warning them through nature and through his word, he gave them over to those sins.
Paul’s Jewish readers might have felt pretty good about themselves – they certainly did not commit what they thought were the worst sins. We might be a little smug, too, thinking, “I may sin this way, but at least I don’t do that.” Then at the beginning of our chapter 2, Paul says, “You are without excuse if you judge others.” All of us have sinned. We all sin every day in thought, word and deed. What does God do? He does not treat us as our sins deserve. Instead he offers us kindness, forbearance and patience. No lightning strikes us when we yield to sin, except the lightning of his love. If we will receive it, Jesus paid the price for our sins. Shall we then continue to sin? No. God’s forbearance is patience with a purpose. His kindness calls us to repent – to change our minds about sin. Our behavior always reveals our belief. Let God’s love change our minds today, so that we turn from our sin and turn to Him.
