A Word from Romans 15

What do you do when your relationship with a friend—or a brother or sister in Christ—gets damaged? You’ve had a disagreement about faith or politics. One of you said or did something unkind. Or maybe there’s been some real conflict. And now, the easy thing would be to ignore or judge one another.

Well sadly, some bumps and bruises in our relationships are almost inevitable, with us being the broken people that we are. But part of what we’re given as followers of Jesus is a calling, an example, and the resources that allow us to respond in ways that create healing instead of distance.

And that’s why today’s word comes from Romans 15. Paul’s been describing some of the differences that create disunity in the Body of Christ. And he says…

     “Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, ‘How can I help?’ That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it.

     “Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next.

     “May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you, so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!” (15:2-6, The Message)

So today, let’s sing that song of praise by following and relying on Jesus to help us overcome anything that might keep us from demonstrating his love to each other and the world. Amen.