Emphasis Preaching Journal

This section of Romans is called the final doxology. Reading that puts me in mind of a doxology that nearly all of us know: "Praise God from whom all blessings flow...." That prayer is the theme song (if there is such a thing) for one family. Whenever the clan gathers for a meal -- usually on holidays or birthdays -- they dutifully stand in a circle, bow their heads, and softly sing, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow...." It doesn't matter that a half-dozen of them can't carry a tune; it doesn't matter that most of them feel self-conscious; every time, without fail, they sing that hymn. It brings them together: A prayer in which even the little ones can participate and understand, a prayer that reaffirms their beliefs and draws them together as a family. When they talk about their gatherings, they make jokes about singing together, but beneath the bluster there is a little well of joy that bubbles each time the family gathers to sing. It is something to hold them together, and something to tether their family, in no uncertain terms, to God -- the God from whom all blessings flow.