Friday, September 8, 2023
Servant Attitude – Romans 15: 1-7 (NIRV) Submitted by Kay Crumley
We who have strong faith should help the weak with their problems. We should not please only ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors. Let us do what is good for them in order to build them up. 3 Even Christ did not please himself. It is written, “The bad things people have said about you have been aimed at me also.” (Psalm 69:9) 4 Everything written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us strength to go on. They encourage us and give us hope. 5 Our God is a God who strengthens and encourages you. May he give you the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had. 6 Then you can give glory to God with one mind and voice. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Christ has accepted you. So accept one another in order to bring praise to God.
We all have people in our lives, maybe in our families, who are just hard to be around. Yet we need to interact with them. This passage teaches us that we have a responsibility to endure that time with them for a purpose. That purpose as stated in vs 3 is to build them up. We are to encourage them to become the person God intends them to be. For all of us that means maturing, growing into His image. None of us have reached that goal but must push toward it to bring glory to God. Then we see in vs 6 that we are to have one mind and voice that is giving glory to God. The question is how we can apply those concepts in our daily lives.
Endurance – the power to endure a difficult situation without giving way. We are called to stay the course with that less mature believer. There may be differences of opinion or levels of understanding that cause disagreements. As mature believers we are to teach them the truth and not allow insignificant issues cause us to give up on them. Jesus has been patient with each of us as we grow in understanding. It is our responsibility to have that same patience with the immature Christian. Vs 2 tells us to put them first rather than our own selves. Find their level of understanding and build them up, help them to grow by using the Word to increase their faith. If Christ didn’t live to please Himself, how can we NOT follow His example of servanthood. Ps 69:9 is quoted here and can be interpreted that Jesus takes the insults of His children on Himself. When we are attacked by worldly people because of our faith in God, those insults are aimed at Him and Jesus takes them for us because they hated Him first (John 15:18). Our hope comes from knowing the scriptures. His Word is the source of our strength.
Encouragement – the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope. Our hope comes from scripture where we find strength and encouragement. It stands to reason that if that is our source of encouragement, we can share that with our fellow believers by turning them to the Word. Whatever point of disagreement we may have can be resolved by finding the answers in scripture. We will not agree on every point, but we can agree on His truth. Vs 5 tells us to have the same attitude that our Savior Jesus Christ had. Mark 10:45 tells us that Jesus came not to be served but to serve and to give His life for others. Having that attitude toward others allows us to bring glory to God our Father in unity, vs 6. To be unified around our common Savior and a common Biblical agenda is the goal.
Pray for God given Unity with one another – Accept others as Christ accepts us. There is nothing easy about settling differences. It is difficult to put others first. However, that is what we are called to do, encourage others with endurance to grow in faith and give glory to God. It’s not about me. Our culture teaches that we are to look out for self and reach for the most power, wealth, and prestige. Society would lead us to believe that we should seek those things regardless of who might get in the way. However, that in not the teaching of Christ. As mature believers we are to look to His example. Love God first, show His love to others, even those who are different or difficult, and give glory and praise to God for any good we are granted. All Glory belongs to God. Only then can our choir have all the voices from each different singer harmonizing beautifully because we are united in one purpose, to honor Him alone. We glorify God by having one mind and one speech, unity in our thinking and in our talking.
