Reading through Romans was pretty whoa. There's so much good stuff in there.. and so much to challenge me.
This really stuck out to me: 15:5-6 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I haven't actually been feeling super unified lately. I don't know anyone that shares my every belief and sometimes it's easy to focus on the differences. I love conversing about different opinions.. but it can turn from a friendly discussion to an alienating disagreement pretty quickly. That just makes us feel bad, and doesn't do much good for God either. It doesn't even have to be a conversation. Today at church, one of the pastors said something good about Glenn Beck's rally yesterday and I immediately crossed my arms and put my walls up. I don't like Glenn Beck. So he can't do anything good, ever. Right?
Then that same pastor gave an incredible message about the Father's heart for us. About how even though other people's sin bothers us, it doesn't bother God that way. He's pursuing them with passionate love, and they're white as snow in his eyes. And God has that same burning desire to be with us personally. I get much more offended than he does. But I want to love like him.
Rom 14:1- Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
When I read that verse it was so convicting. I am definitely guilty of accepting people.. so I can start conforming them into my image of what Christians should be. On a second reading, I realized that some people probably need that verse to deal with me. I'm still working through a lot of stuff. And I'm truly thankful for people that accept me without trying to correct everything I say.
I just want to be the body. I want to be love. I want to be unified, to show how good God is. Lord, help me.
You know, I was humming this tune the other day and when the words came back to me, it was Live the Life by Michael W. Smith. "For the world to know the truth, there can be no greater proof than to live the life..." After having it buzz around my mind for a while, I actually started to think about it and I decided that, while it's a great tune, it's not right. If you look at John 17, Jesus prays in the Garden that we would be one as He and the Father are one. Then the world will know that God sent Him and that He is who He says He is. Unity in the body of Christ is what reveals the glory of God. Conversely, John deals with certain heresey's in his epistles and cautions that unity at the expense of correct doctrine is tempting, but dangerous. Balance is necessary and discernment indispensible but with the current climate in the church today, I think we could stand to err more on the side of unity rather than doctrine.
ReplyDeletePeace and blessings
JO
amen, sister. I'm in the same boat
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