We All Belong To Each Other

Meditations on Romans 

September 15, 2021

We All Belong To Each Other

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

Romans 12:2a

Read Romans 12:1-5

I believe one of the benchmark days in the life of a Christian is when we grasp the truth that the world's culture has told us a pack of lies about who God is, who we are and who our neighbor is, and that God in Christ Jesus is telling us the truth. When we come to this place, we can affirm Paul’s truth quoted above. In the second part to this verse, Paul asserted that when we let God transform the way we think, we will learn to know God’s will for us, which is good and pleasing and perfect. This language is very similar to how Paul expressed God continually working in our lives in his letter to the Philippians: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).

As we have seen in the first eleven chapters of Romans, Paul is affirming that the Christians are the new people of God who are called to be a light unto the world. How do we let our light shine? By not copying the behavior and customs of this world and allowing God to work within us to give us a new vision of what it means to live as the beloved people of God. Whether our go-to news channel is Fox or CNN, we all need to pause and ask, “What is God’s perspective?” I’m certain we will find the Biblical witness is different, sometimes substantially different, than that of today’s pundits and political commentators.

My Takeaway:  In verses 3-5 of today’s reading, Paul begins a discussion of how we allow our light to shine as we serve God together as the church, the Body of Christ. The foundation upon which Paul builds is the truth that the disciples in Rome had a sense they belonged to each other. In many parts of the Kingdom of God, that foundation still exists, especially where the church is suffering persecution. In the USA, not so much. Join me today and spend time meditating on what it would mean in our local church if we had a deep and abiding sense that, “we all belong to each other.” (v.5)

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.