“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Rom. 15:7
Dear Jesus, it would have been one thing if Paul had written these words to a Christian Duck and Turkey Hunting club, somewhere in the Delta of Mississippi. The work of demonstrating Gospel-welcome, genuine acceptance, and mutual love between southern duck hunters would have been real, but not overly complex.
But Paul’s audience in the Book of Romans included believers from many different ethnic, theological, sociological, economic, and political backgrounds. How, could such diversity even gather civilly in one space, much less go on to become a demonstration of the generous reach and reconciling power of the Gospel? Really? “Freed-up” meat eaters fellowshipping in the same house church alongside committed vegetarians—both claiming the Bible as the reason for their diet? How’d that work, Jesus?
Slave owners, slaves, and former slaves receiving the Lord’s Supper together—your supper, Jesus… what’d that look like—and how did the Gospel challenge and transform the culture as everyone grew in grace and their discipleship? And how did older law-keeping Jewish converts feel about pagan converts coming into the church, who, perhaps, only months earlier were regularly sleeping with temple prostitutes in acts of fertility-god worship, to increase their crops and number of babies?
How did formerly Jesus haters become Jesus lovers, Jesus? And how did mutual disrespect, distrust, demonizing, and disdain for one another morph into an imperfect but real garden of grace in Rome—offering a hint, glimpse, aroma, and preview of the Day we will be made perfect in love?
Jesus, help us. Convict us. Heal Us. Grant us sweet and deep repentance’s. If bringing praise to God is our goal, passion, and delight, then we’ve got a lot to learn about sincerely accepting one another as you accept us, Jesus. So Very Amen.
