I appeal to you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of
God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (1-2)
For by the grace given
to me I bid everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he
ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure
of faith which God has assigned him. For
as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same
function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members
one of another. Having gifts that differ
according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if
service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who contributes,
in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
(3-8)
Let love be genuine;
hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly
affection; outdo one another in showing honor.
Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in
tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. (9-13)
Bless those who
persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be
haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for
what is noble in the sight of all. If
possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave
it to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,
says the Lord.” No, “if your enemy is
hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by doing so you will
heap burning coals upon his head.” Do
not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (14-21)
Romans
12
This morning the Bible Study guys finished Romans Chapter
12. It is only 21 verses, but it has taken
us a whole month of meetings. The time
spent there, coupled with recent events in my life, have given me a great
appreciation for the importance of these words of St. Paul.
The Bible Study discussions on Romans 12 were very deep, and
very personal. Every man had examples of
events in his life. All spoke of difficult
people or events in their lives, from kids to wives to co-workers. They often spoke of their anger towards these
people, these people whom they were supposed to love and respect. And they discussed strategies for change, to
change their bad feelings and thoughts.
But I think if all of their words were written down and placed side by
side with the words of Romans 12, a simple comparison might say they are
talking about different subjects. As the
Bible Study guys words would illustrate, much of their concern was about what
they felt, how they hurt, and how people didn’t understand them.
Romans 12 is not about us, but about those other people God
has put in our lives. It’s telling us to
put on an attitude as Jesus had, to NOT be irritated by others, to NOT compare
them to “how right we are,” but to love them, just as THEY are.
As He did.
In recent weeks, God has shown me many people whose lives
are greatly different than mine. I’ve
seen people who CHOOSE TO live in filth, to accept very low income, to
prioritize things I think petty, and to ignore things I think of as having
great importance. Even if they are
intelligent --- and some are --- they don’t think like I do. And what they say or do, or the lack of
respect they have for what I say or do, makes me angry.
Which verse of Romans should I appeal to, to judge my
anger? Verse 3, which says don’t think
so highly of myself? Or Verse 5 which
says we are members together? Or should
I seek the good in them, as Verse 6 says we all have different gifts AND
GRACE? Or should I take consolation in
Verse 18, which says “If possible, so far as it depends on (me), live peaceably
with all.” If possible??
Verse 9 says to hate “what” is evil, not “who.” The Bible Study guys mostly talked about “why
I’m right and you’re wrong,” to justify their anger. Romans 12 points out that right and wrong are
“whats,” not “whos.” Romans 12 points
out that “who” we are is part of the Body of Christ, and we should love all
members of the body, no matter what they do, no matter what they say, and no
matter how they live.
We need to read Romans 12 and seriously study it, and
resolve to change who we are, and how we act --- and react. And we need to love, and not judge. It’s an important lesson, this Easter Season;
Jesus thought it important enough to die for.
In heaven will be perfect happiness, and perfect love. In hell will be perfect sadness, and perfect
hate. But we live on earth, where there
are only degrees of good and evil. We
need to stop acting as if I’m right and you’re wrong, I’m good and you’re evil,
I’m smart and you are stupid. All our
thoughts in these areas are formed by what people have said or
done. People are not “whats.”
In a word, it’s about humility. You cannot love without humility. Charity, love, is how we CHOOSE to act toward
others, and choose to stop acting in pride and self-love.
We can choose to live more humbly. We can act with love toward others, even if
their actions are not ones we would choose.
Their actions (and ours) will ultimately be judged by God.
No, if your enemy is
hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by doing so you will
heap burning coals upon his head (Romans 12:20) --- you will be killing him
with kindness, and his pain may be an incentive to change “what” he does.
But regardless, act with love towards him, for who he is. Our friends, our families, our co-workers are
not stupid; we need to act more humbly. It’s
a hard lesson to learn, and harder to put into effect, but to a large degree
our lives, and our joy, depend on it.
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