Romans 1:18-23
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of
people, who suppress the truth by their
wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and
divine nature—have been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither
glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the
glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
Reflection
The last verse of our scripture today is a hint to the trouble of idolatry. Many times we think we are immune to idolatry because we do not have statues of Buddha or other false gods in our homes, but the truth is that whatever keeps us from God is an idol in our lives. Paul makes it quite clear here that too many times we obscure the truth that God is God because we let other things rule our lives. What other things do you think could rule our lives? What things do you think rule your life?
