Seeking Unity in Community

Assuring Hope
Jesus, the Promised Servant-leader

Romans 14:1-9 (The Message)

Cultivating Good Relationships

 ¹ Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.  ^2-4For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ's table, wouldn't it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn't eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
 ⁵Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.
 ^6-9What's important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God's sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you're a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It's God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That's why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.

For Reflection
"Freed from the petty tyrannies of each other."  Paul offers good advice to an emerging church.  If all of the believers in a community don't think or act exactly the same or as one expects them to, so what?  They are guests of God -- children of God.  Why do some people fear others who see things differently?  If God invited them both to the table are they not of equal value?  Our strength as a community lies not in the fact that we are all arms or legs or eyes.  The strength of the community is that we are together arms and legs and eyes and hands and feet and noses and and and.

Pray
that we in Christ realize our unique place in the Kingdom of God.  Pray for the strength to appreciate the different talents that each offers to God.  Pray to be freed from participating in petty tyrannies in the name of Christ.