Gwen and I have 3 boys who are close in age. We had our share of disputes to settle. The boys didn’t always appreciate our judgements and accused us of being unfair in our discipline. We learned a critical phrase early on in our parenting. Parents, you might want to write this down, especially if you have more than one child. We learned to say, “We won’t treat you the same, but we will treat you fairly.” As parents, it was our responsibility to discern what was best for our boys and act accordingly. Regardless of how we disciplined each boy, our goal was the same: to love them, prepare them for adult life, build character, maturity, and growth into their lives to grow grow up to be good friends, husbands, fathers, and most importantly, Christ-followers.

In today’s text, the apostle Paul continues his teaching to the Roman church. Paul is not one to sidestep challenging issues. Today he addresses God’s judgement for Jews who thought they had a place of privilege and for Gentiles (anyone who is not a Jew) who didn’t have the same information about God that the Jews did. In parenting language, Paul is saying, “God, our heavenly father is telling us, ‘I won’t judge you the same, but I will judge you fairly.'”

Questions for Reflection:

• Have you tried to win God’s favour through your good works? If yes, reflect on why.
• Are you intentionally trying to show people who Jesus is through your words and actions?
• Are there relationships that you need to deal with because you misrepresented God to them? Take a moment to ask God if you need to ask for forgiveness from anyone.