Contrasting Powers

Sometimes I wonder if the things we see but seem to have seen as we are reading Scripture speak to our reading only what we want to read, our hurried reading, or the different experience lens through which we see the Word.  In the early part of the third chapter of Romans there comes this reference from the Old Testament which begins with "There is no one who is righteous, not even one..."  (Romans 3:10), but in the most recent reading what really stood out as if it was in bold black print was the phrase in verse 9 which read, "...under the power of sin..."      

Here is a word which describes the human condition of the Jews, Greeks, and all the rest of us.  To read back over the earlier verses is to realize that this is the first time this phrase appears in Romans.  And interestingly enough, its wording takes us back to the 16th verse of the first chapter where its antithesis is lifted up in the words, "...the power of God..."  Though separated by hundreds of words and head scratching ideas, these two phrases speak to the great struggle which was taking place in Paul's world and continues to take place in our own.    

We seek to live under the influence of the power of God, and indeed, to some degree we do, but we also find ourselves being compliant to the dictates of the power of evil ever present in our world.  It is not an easy thing to comprehend, nor is it as easy struggle to engage.  In another letter Paul spells it out as he wrote, "...Our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood..."  (Ephesians 6:12)   Anyone who denies the power of evil and any believer who diminishes its influence is a fool.  Both are present.  One brings death and the other brings life.  The choice remains in our hands.