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Community Bible Experience: Days 16 & 17

Ok, I’m sorry. Life happened yesterday. I did my reading and then jumped into a day of ministry that, honestly, left me without any time to write my little notes for our reading. I promise, this will probably happen again.

Which brings me to a significant thought for all of us who are trying to get the reading of the whole New Testament done in these eight weeks. Life does happen. We can find ourselves behind in our reading and start to think, “I just can’t do it now that I am behind.” To quote the 1981 theological treatise by the rock band, Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Hang in there! Keep reading and try to catch up when you can. It is worth the effort.

Our reading yesterday had us finishing the book of Romans and today’s reading was the book of Colossians. Both of these books are very deep theological works and at the same time very practical. The section we read in Romans was more of the practical part, while Colossians was a mix.

Here is what I got from the reading both yesterday and today.

Romans: “You mean I have to be sensitive to my fellow believers’ sensibilities and live in such a way that they are not tripped up? Why do I have to worry about them?”

These are great questions that I often hear from Christian people that Paul answers in the middle of our reading section. It is true that each of us will stand before the Lord and have to make an accounting of our OWN lives before Him. My aunt Suzy is not going to have to answer for me and I won’t be responsible for her as we stand before the Judge. However, in the practical sense, I do have a responsibility.

The passage says, if anyone thinks that something is unclean (Paul is talking about eating stuff, but it applies to other things as well), then for that person it is unclean. And, if it is unclean for them in their approach to it, then I better be circumspect in my approach to those things, so they won’t stumble. In other words, We need to be sensitive to one another and our weaknesses, so that we might be encouraging and bless each other.

Here’s an example. If I have a problem in my walk with the Lord relative to the eating of Twinkies, say, I was addicted to them in my past life and when I see them or anyone eating them, I struggle to control myself. And you, fellow believer in Christ, have no problem with Twinkies, in fact you buy them (since you can again, PTL) by the box full; you invite me to your house. When I come in, there are Twinkies on the coffee table, Twinkies on the kitchen counter AND you are eating one when you answer the door. You say to me, “Hey John, want a Twinkie?” I reply, “No thank you, I don’t know if you remember or not, but before I was a Christian, I was mainlining Twinkies for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. I really have a problem with even seeing them, now.” Then you say to me, “What, you know there is no problem with eating Twinkies as a believer? Jesus set you free, brother. Come on, lighten up!” In that moment, my sensibilities toward Twinkies should over ride your freedom to eat them and, as a friend and a fellow follower of Christ, you should abstain from that freedom to eat, display or “Twinkie talk” in my presence. That is what Paul is trying to say. We need to be sensitive to each others’ weaknesses.

Colossians: Christians aught to be sweet people. We need to exude the grace and beauty of the Lord in all we do and say. Not only within the confines of the church, but also outwardly to the world, which is perishing without Christ.

Paul says to this church, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” He says this because God in Christ has set us up to be holy, loved, compassionate, kind, humble (oh boy), gentle, patient, forgiving and lovers. All these things are the inheritance of God to faithful followers. I guess you could summarize it as saying God made us to be sweet through Jesus.

My problem is, why don’t we see this more often? Really! What happen to the power of God in His people that we, more often than is comfortable, choose to not express these wonderful traits? I am not indicting the whole church, but some of it that I see displayed through the media, social or otherwise. It seems to me that many Christians that express the truths of God (and they are the truths of God), choose to do it in a spirit that seems at odds with the tenor of God’s investment of peace in His congregation of followers. It’s like, from the world’s perspective, that these folk are like skunks, they look pretty from a distance, but when you get up close, the pretty is transformed into something onerous. It is like the Proverb that says, “Like a gold ring in a swine’s snout, so is a beautiful woman without discretion.” It looks weird to see Christians act this way, out of character and stinky.

I hope we might see the great opportunity, that God has given us, to demonstrate to the world and to one another, that He was not goofing around when He sent His Son to pay the penalty for each and every one of us. He wanted us changed into the image of the great prototype, Jesus. I hope we can see that is what He did, so we need to act like WHO WE ARE.

Blessings, everyone. Until tomorrow (unless life happens)!

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