Obedience for the sake of His name

Romans 1: 5 "...through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ."

The obedience to the faith is for the sake of His name, that is Jesus Christ. Paul says that he has received grace and the calling of his apostleship for the sake of this very purpose. To us today, though we are not apostles, we have the same call as ministers of the gospel, including all Christians, to take the gospel and the doctrines of the faith to the world that they may obey Him. This is not a new idea but one part struck my heart this morning in a way that it never has before.

Paul said that it included the Romans to whom he was writing. Our focus should always be on the nations, including those right next to us. We many times think of missions as somewhere else, but our somewhere else is home to them. Did you ever consider that we live in some body's "somewhere else." Where you live, where you work, where you shop is included in the nations.

May I have that focus for my neighbors and those who surround me. They are the nations that must come into obedience to the faith for the sake of His name.