Romans 15:5-7

S May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

O In a previous chapter, Paul encouraged the Romans to “Love you neighbor as yourself” (Romans 13:9) and then listed several ways in the chapters following on how to do so. He sums it all up by reminding them to strive for unity.

A UNITY defined: a whole made by combining all its parts into one

How do we keep unity at WSFC? Paul states two ways here:

1. (vs. 5) God will give us endurance and encouragement. When we find it difficult to love someone, God will strengthen us and “cheer us on”.
2. (vs. 7) We need to accept one another- with all of our flaws. It is key that we recognize that Christ accepts us unconditionally with all of our faults; we have to do the same. We can’t say, “I will love that person ‘if’…”.

Why is unity so important? Paul’s reasons are:

1. (vs. 7) To bring praise to God. Our every action can either bring God glory or greif; even through how we love/care for each other.
2. (vs. 6) One solitary voice shouting for a football team wouldn’t be very effective. In the same way, when believers are unified, they become one enormous “heart and mouth” to declare praises to God. This brings glory to Him as non-believers see us working together in unity and love. God gives us our church family to practice “doing” love so that when we are in the marketplace/world, we can be a light to non-believers by loving on them.

P Lord, I want to praise you by my actions. I want to shine your love through me. I want to give others the same grace, mercy, and forgiveness that you continually extend to me. I want to accept everyone unconditionally, just as you accept me unconditionally. Please strengthen me to accomplish these seemingly impossible things! Amen!

1. This entry was posted on Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 5:33 am and is filed under Journal Entry, Nicole Barreiro. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.