We are so clouded with things that we see that we look right past what God has done. The pleasures that our freedom in America brings overshadows at times what we know is true. God created everything and wants us to know His Son, and see what He did in the flesh, then be like Him. He is the word and the way and nothing this world can bring can do anything for us eternally. It is all about Jesus.
The next part talks about the different idols people used and we struggle with man made things as well. Verse 23 "And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles." We struggle with Cars, sports, and things we can buy. As I watch the news I am amazed at what people will do for their sports teams; the sacrifice they will make is crazy. They use money they don't have, neglect their families and then riot and fight if their teams lose. What should be important to us gets put on the back burner and we sometimes fit it in, but it's the first thing we give up doing. (Knowing God)
It says in the beginning of verse 23, "...yes they knew God..." So we can't say we don't know Him, but do we work at belonging to Him? All He wants is a relationship and for us to believe in Jesus, and then know Him so much that we do God's will instead of our own. We were all born sinners because of Adam, but Jesus makes us new and when we are new, the old is washed away. The saying "we were born that way" is a lie that the enemy wants us to believe so we struggle with what we think and feel. God wants us to grow and learn, seek and ask, and keep on living through Christ. When we work hard to know Him, God transforms us into His image.
God is love and when we choose to do our own thing He lets us. Verse 24 says, "So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies." When we live by our feelings we do what our flesh desires, but when we open our hearts and seek we will find the truth and He will set us free.
As you continue to read in Romans chapter 1 we see things that are happening right now, as the world is trying to make us believe our feelings or desires deserve to be fulfilled. Verses 25-27 go on to say, "They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved." We must remember in Gods love for us He never wants to make us love Him. He so loved the world that He gave His Son. We need to love Him the same way and give up our thoughts and feelings and surrender our will. That is exactly what Jesus did, we can do the same when we are in Him and are working to know Him.
We can't get caught up on the sex part of what Romans says because it goes on to add these in verses 28-29, "Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip." We can't get caught up in what America is trying to tell us, open His word and follow the perfect example (Jesus) and then work hard to live it out. We are traveling through this place, let's not get stuck on what it's selling and believe we are born again, and new. Amen