All For One

I've been reading through Romans for a course I'm taking over the summer and I have to say, it is probably one of the more rewarding studies that I've completed in a long time. And by completed, I mean still have a lot of work left to do.

I find myself being very jealous of Paul. Christ specifically called him to be a minister to the Gentiles, and to preach the Gospel in places where it was unheard previously. And he's the one whose letters now fill the pages of the Bible! What an awesome opportunity he had! Just reading Romans changed the lives of people like Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley and Karl Barth.

One of the themes from Romans that I find myself pondering throughout the days is the idea of living among one another. Israel had been called God's chosen people from way back in the times of Genesis, and they all hold a special place in God's eyes as His chosen people. But because of their decision to leave God, he did everything he could to get their attention once again, even sending His son to die on a cross. With the gospel of Christ, the Gentiles (us, well, unless you are a Jew) were allowed into God's saving plan to make the Israelites "envious" of their position in God's plan. But Paul, in Romans, reminds the Gentiles to remain humble in their positions, because they are considered equal to their Jewish brothers, not above them.

In the same way, Christians are called to see themselves as equal to one another. This definitely can be hard at times. I was talking with my aunt today about how we both get frustrated when we find that people can't do things we just expect them to know how to do. For instance, I get really upset with people who are playing Ultimate Frisbee for the first time, and there is no reason for that whatsoever. In today's Christians culture, it is very easy to "size up" those around us. I've found this especially hard to do at a Christian university or school. We sit and start to talk about faith or some related matter, and end up discussing the nature of evil, when someone walks in and says something slightly less "well-versed" or somewhat of a lesser intellecutal degree and we instantly rule him out of the conversation. Or we start discussing a deeper theological concept and expect everyone else to be on the same page as us, but in reality, their page is on a totally different issue. Or we find that other's experiences are quite as up to snuff as ours. In reality, we get frustrated when people don't understand what we want them to. This is something that I have been learning this summer quite thoroughly - as the "too smart" guy and the "too weak" guy as well. I don't always see people through God's eyes, and find it very easy to see them through my own instead.

Paul calls us to not be a stumbling block to one another. In high school, I used to think that just meant asking girls to stop wearing mini-skirts and revealing tshirts. Fortunately, that isn't the extent of it. It means that we aren't to express our intellectual, spiritual, or physical superiority over one another. "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters" (Ro. 14.1) It is so easy to start talking about pre-destination/free-will, or whether we should sing hymns or contemp. songs, and so many other things. And when people don't know as much as us, we get frustrated and degrade them. Paul calls us to allow other's whose faith is weaker than ours to take precedence over our current situations. If someone has a really big problem with swearing, it is better to not swear in his/her presence rather than, by our swearing, allow doubt and conflict to unnecessarily arouse in his mind and cause an undue stress to his relationship to God. People are just different and we must learn to accept them where they are. At the same time, we ought to strive to communicate our thoughts in order to help them grow in a positive way.

"Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification...So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves." (Ro. 15:19-22)