WATCHWORD:
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Romans 12:9-16
Meditation:
The Next Hard Thing
Joseph Hellerman, in writings entitled Reconstructing Honor in Roman Philippi, calls our attention to a difficult decision that Paul made at a critical time in his life, as he was trying to establish a Christian church in the little outpost of Philippi. In this community, there were members of the elite and nobodies of society. There were women, children, slaves, a real mix where Paul was trying to make them into a family: brothers and sisters of the faith.
So, Paul is arrested. We do not know what the charge was, but for Rome that didn’t matter. He was badly beaten and eventually released. It was at this point that he protested to the authorities that he was a Roman citizen. The officials are shocked and apologetic, and frightened, for they have violated Roman law. Here’s the question, why didn’t Paul use his getting out of jail free card when he was first arrested?
That was the point where Paul made a very difficult decision. Yes, he could have avoided the beating by simply declaring his citizenship. But he saw his citizenship of lesser importance then the community he was leading for the Lord. He chose to humble himself and stay a “nobody” in order to open the Word of God to this diverse community.
For some of us, humility is not a virtue that comes naturally. We probably will not be in the same position that Paul found himself in, but, maybe to a lesser extent, we frequently have a choice of declaring our brotherhood to Jesus, openly and boldly, or hiding behind our society-dictated, imagined stature of who we are. We often find yourselves assigning more importance to what is happening to us at the moment, rather than considering what is beyond, the next hard thing — living as Christ would have us live in a fallen world.
I would be the first to say “I’m guilty” of staying silent in many given moments, when speaking the truth in love would honor the Lord. Be honest with yourself, in that “given moment.” Later, have you had regrets that you passed on speaking the truth? Was that the next hard thing? To be sure, practicing our faith daily is not always easy. As someone has said, “Religion? That’s easy. Faith? Now, that’s hard!” Confront it and live it. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
I came across this statement on the way to find an example of “The Next Hard Thing”. It is part of an article written by Brett McCracken, on Christian Living website —
“If you’re all-in with one political party and never feel any tension whatsoever with your Christian faith, it probably means your faith is too comfortable. Whether you’re a lifelong Democrat or a diehard Republican, a robust Christian faith should create dissonance with politics at various points. A faith that aligns perfectly with one political party is suspiciously convenient and lacks prophetic witness.”
What do you think about that on this July 5, 2021, Independence Day observed?
Closing Prayer:
Lord, We pray for a heart of humility. Humility in such a way that we do not cheapen our own worth or value within, but that we take the alignment that we are here for a greater purpose than just our own gain. We pray that You will highlight to us what it truly means to live a humble life, and that our own worth will be revealed by Your Light. It is only then that we may truly live in freedom and right standing, for we will hold our own value correctly. Lord, we welcome You to mold and secure our hearts in true humility by Your lead. In Jesus name, Amen
