Day 38: Romans 15: 5-13
Passage for the Day
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name.”
10 Again, it says,
“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples extol him.”
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Points of interest:
· ‘Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you’—Paul is basically begging people, ‘Please, get along, won’t you.’ It’s the unity of Jews and Gentiles (and everyone else) that pleases God; and it’s imperative in Paul’s opinion that all of these followers of Jesus accept one another. He uses Christ’s unconditional acceptance of people regardless of status, gender, ethnicity, put-togetherness, etc. as the reason that they too should accept one another. Just as Jesus accepted them in a state of imperfection, Paul urges his audience to do the same for one another.
· ‘so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed’—Jesus is the fulfillment of what God had been promising to the Jews’ ancestors all along. God promised that all the nations of the world would be blessed, and now through Jesus they are seeing that promise come to fruition. That’s why it’s so imperative that they accept one another. This is an exciting moment, which should be celebrated: God has finally brought about the means for everyone, everywhere to experience his goodness to a whole new level. Somehow, though, Paul’s listeners are taking it as an occasion to argue about whom exactly is more blessed.
· ‘As it is written’—in case his readership questions what these promises to the Patriarchs were, Paul pulls out a handful of examples directly from their scriptures to remind them (Psalm 18:49, Deut. 32:43, Psalm 117:1 Isaiah 11:10). He wants to make it clear that God always intended for the Gentiles to have a place in his kingdom. God has not changed his plan.
· ‘so that you may overflow with hope’—this is Paul’s prayer for them. They’ve had a very tense discussion about what it means to worship the one true God. So, he ends by reminding them that both he and God have high hopes for them and good intentions toward them. He lets his readers know that what he really wants is God to fill them with a positive outlook of what is to come, which just bubbles over and oozes out of them.
Taking it home:
· For you: We, like Paul’s Jewish listeners, can sometimes need a reminder of where we have come from and who we are. Take some time to reflect on your own journey with God, remembering significant milestones along the way. Think back to when you first started a relationship with God. What initially drew you to God? What significant events have happened along the way? How have you grown? What have you learned? Are there things you used to experience earlier on in your faith life that you’ve lost touch with along the way? Ask Jesus to renew your faith and to remind you of the things that have drawn you to God along the way.
· For your six: Pray that your six would experience profound acceptance. Pray that God would heal your six of any ways that they have experienced rejection or feared being rejected. Are there any ways that you might be able to show them acceptance? Could you be a safe, trustworthy and loyal friend to your six through the ups and downs of life?
· For America: It’s probably safe to say that ‘overflowing with hope’ is not the general attitude of our nation right now. The #1 song on the radio for 2008 was ‘Bleeding in Love,’ by Leona Lewis, to be followed shortly thereafter by Rhianna’s hit single, ‘Disturbia.’ If these song titles are any indication, it seems we could most definitely use some increase of hope in our nation. Pray that America –and the songs played on our radios and ipods –would be oozing with a joyful perspective that inspires people to believe in and work for good things.