“LOVE THAT LASTS A LIFETIME”

“¹ We, who are strong, have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ² Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³ For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.’ ⁴ For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope. ⁵ May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶ that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Therefore welcome one another (NLT : “accept each other”) as Christ has welcomed you (“accepted you”), for the glory of God. (Romans 15:1-7) [ESV]

In Genesis 2:18 it says, “Then the Lord said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone.”  Up to this point, you find God saying these words, “... it was very good” as He looked upon each of His completed creations. Once he created Adam, He realized that of all the animals he had created male and female except for man and that’s when he said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” [ESV]

Whether we like it or not, the truth remains that we are made for relationships, and we need them to survive! This has become more and more evident to me as I see my father aging. My mother passed away ten years ago. When I visit with dad, I always ask him how he is doing and, without exception, he always tells me that he is lonely. Why? Because God created us to live in relationships.

I know that sometimes it’s hard to live in community with others. My father-in-law used to have a saying, “The more people I meet, the better I like my dog!”  While this may be true with many people, the truth is we still need each other.

In these verses from the book of Romans, Paul addresses the essence of what it means to live in relationships with others, especially in marriage.  As we take a closer look into the context of this writing, we see Christians criticizing each other over petty Old Testament practices that they were still embracing. So, Paul comes to them with a rebuke and tells them to accept each other and to look to Jesus’ example of self-giving love as our model to imitate.

In Romans 15:1, Paul says, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak.” [ESV] In the New Living Translation [NLT] it says, “We who are strong must be considerate.” The word “must” means more than just “we should.” It actually means we have a debt. The “strong” refers to those who feel free to engage in certain arguable matters, having a debt to carry the weaknesses of those who don’t share our opinions.

Following Christ’s example, the “strong” are not to please themselves, but are to please his neighbor for his good and for his edification. When Paul says in v. 7, “accept each other”, these words mean we are to “keep on accepting or receiving one another.” Just as Jesus receives us, even though we keep sinning and are not perfect, we need to also receive others. Why? To glorify God!

Just like Sierra Vista Community Church, ALL of the New Testament churches were imperfect, made up of imperfect people and lead by imperfect leaders! Does that surprise you? But, in spite of their imperfection, they regularly gathered because of their need for their perfect Savior and Lord and for “one another”.  So even though at times we may “rub each other wrong”, offend each other and even hurt each other... scripture tells us don’t withdraw! Work things out!  This is hard to resist and even harder to practice in a culture like ours when we see relationships as disposable! Just take a look at the national divorce rate. Please, make a commitment today to stick with your marriage, your family, your friendships and with your church. Be there for “one another” as the Lord is there for us!

Think About It:

• How does it make you feel to know that you “have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak”? (v. 1)
• What does “please your neighbor for his good, to build him up” look like for you? (v. 2)
• Read v. 5.  How does “live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Jesus Christ” personally apply to you?
• What does vv. 1-7 have to do with those who are married?
• If these principles were also applied to our marriages, what kind of difference would it make?
• How does “welcome (accept) one another as Christ has welcomed (accepted) you” look like in our lives? (v. 7)
• If we were to live in true “community” (according to Romans 15:1-7), who would notice and who would get the glory?