ROMANS 1:1-7 FOR MY CHILDREN

A Targum* for my children based on Romans 1:1-7



Dear Rachael and Rebekah, Hannah, Naomi, Tommy and Esther (and everyone else who is loved by our God and living in America- this broken world’s most powerful nation)

Things are messed up. I know you realize that. People hurt and are lonely. They are hungry for food and attention, but no one cares. Even Creation itself seems to strike out through tsunami and drought. Something is clearly wrong. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. The hearts of men and women point to something different, and this "something different" is what I desire for you. May all the deepest craving of your heart for a world made glorious with love, justice, truth and beauty be made a reality- a gift from God our Father accomplished through Joshua the King, Lord of all.

My greatest boast is that I’m a slave of this King and chosen by him for the royal task of telling everyone that the world’s true ruler has returned and will make everything as it should be. This oughtn't come as a surprise (the king’s return, not my privilege) because God had promised this very thing hundreds of years ago in the prophecies of the Old Oath. God swore that his own champion would one day come- tied to this broken world by his descent from Israel’s ancient King David, but declared through the power of the Spirit of Life to be the one who ushers in the World-Which-Is-To-Come.

Though he appeared to be a pretender- stomped on and ground up under the heel of those who fancied themselves in control, God pronounced his reign legitimate and true by raising him from the dead. The miracle of Easter told us two things: what time it was and whether the man Joshua was delusional. Clearly, the promised new age had begun and all authority in heaven and earth truly belong to this man- just as he had quietly claimed.

It is through the gracious friendship of this King that I have received my commission to call everyone to allegiance to the banner of King Joshua, Lord of all. This includes you, whom he has declared to be more than close friends- he calls you his brothers and sisters.

*A Targum was an expanded paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures composed by Rabbis during the diaspora to aid the understanding of their “Hebrew challenged” congregations. I thought something similar might help my kids. So I’ve started with Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.