"What is a man that doesn't change his world." This famous line from Kingdom of Heaven has been an inspiration in my life, but this movie has another line that makes another statement: "Holiness is in right action." My question is what deems an action to be right? Take murder for an example, this is a very very wrong act that often leads people to the electric chair. Invading a country is wrong when you do so to gain power, land, or money; but when it is done to protect ones own country is considered justified. Maybe none of these actions are really Holy, however there is a basic idea of right and wrong that seperate these actions. The underlying reason for this separation is motive. If you shoot somebody out of self defense then you are found to be innocent or rather not guilty. However, if you shoot someone out of hatred, spite, or greed then you have to deal with the wrath of the justice system.

This makes me ask the question if the rightness of an action is based on the motivation for that action. The outcome has little to do with the actual place of your heart. The most ironic thing about right and wrong action is that action is inevitable. Even not acting is an action, which means that choosing to not act can also be considered wrong. There are consequences to all of our choices, so choosing to not choose doesn't let you off the hook.

This is the first of my commentaries through the book of Romans. I am going to post the title based on the section I read and then write about what I thought.

In this section, the last two versus really struck me. First of, this is an introductory to the book of Romans introducing first the writer, Paul, and then the people he is writing to, Romans. Very basic. However, at the end of this section he says a very bold statement that I believe many Christians today struggle with:"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.' (v. 16-17)"

How many of us have been ashamed of the gospel? My diagnosis for this is that we don't see it as a living word, we see words on a page, but not the words coming out of the mouth of God. The bible and the Gospel has power to heal, defend, and to save. It is a very powerful tool that we take too lightly. Think about it, if you were about to be hit by a car and a homeless person, drunk, druggie, or any other person jumped in and saved your life would you be afraid to point him out. I hope not, that man just saved your life. You should introduce him to friends when you have a chance, feed him/her some food, or do anything you can for that person because you are grateful. Well, the gospel has saved your life and yet when people talk about Christ in a demeaning way, you ignore it and turn away. You don't say anything against it, but you don't say anything for it. I don't mean to step on your toes, actually I do, but you (Christians) treat the gospel like it is a plague around their friends that don't believe. The said thing is we use a famous phrase to let ourselves off the hook, "Go forth and preach and when necessary use words." Saint Francis. I know the tricks, I've used them. But if you are using that to get off the hook, then you are missing the message. That message is a call to action, saying that we have talked long enough and we need to actually do something. Now that we try to treat people nicely, we need to talk otherwise they will just wonder what is different about you. Not saying words doesn't answer that question. This is something all of us can work on: Don't be ashamed of the Gospel!

It seems to me that there are two great recurring thoughts that I have had throughout my life. The first is that life is bigger then us; it has to be bigger then us. The fact of the matter is that if life is about this small little thing that makes up my conception of life, that is what I see, taste touch, and feel, then I am missing out on something; Life is bigger then me. This thought typically puts me into a spiral thought motion that tries to tap into this greater spring of life then the puddle I live in. The second thought is how much of life we miss out on because we forget to focus on the little things, which still hold great importance to us. It is one of those moments where you do the same thing for the hundredth time, but yet this time it seems more vivid, more real, and more fulfilling.

The ironic part about these two thoughts is that they are at direct competition with each other. It is like some sort of check and balance system that attempts to prevent living too big and living too small. I kind of think about it like this. We live in a 3-dimensional world; Everything has hight, length, and width. But there are more dimensions to this world that we can't see. Now, just wait, I'm not talking about some strange off the wall thing that will go into a whacked explanation of the universe and wormholes. I'm just talking about something that creates a larger understanding about the space that we live in. Think about it from a biological level. There are quarts, protons, neutrons, atoms, bacteria, bugs, animals, and people. All that live in the same space. Very similarly, we live in a town or a city, which lives in a state or province, which is in a country, on a continent, and on the third rock from the sun. You have your life, your family, friends, your family's friends, and your friend's family all of whom you can effect. Your actions can also effect people on any continent in the world depending on what you choose to do with your time and resources. Even the lack of an action effects them, because they are now at a loss from what you could have done, or maybe it is a benefit. However you still can't forget about your friends, family, and cleaning your room (which ironically I need to do right now). The point is that life isn't about just you and your surroundings, and since you are a part of life your life isn't just about you. However, if you focus too much on everything else you forget to live, interesting paradox.