Break Bread Not The Body
I am reading the letter to the Roman church in the Bible and came across a really good word on where many things are at right now in the world.
We are allowing our personal opinions, choices, agendas to fracture relationships that diminish our witness as followers of Jesus by how we choose to love and act towards each other. This is a call to do things differently, to choose the way of love and to honour each other regardless of our personal opinions, choices and agendas. Our primary call must be to love and honour one another and to do what we can to build each other up in the faith. There are too many needless casualties in these days.
In Romans 14, Paul is dealing with a food related issue, not vaccines, political agendas, passports, masks or (insert issue here), but he is dealing with the heart of the matter. It is time to realign with the heart, kingdom and Word of God, the character of Christ and the voice of the Spirit. The church is needing renewal, the world is longing to see something different, and Jesus deserves better from those who are called by his name.
Read Romans 14 today and ask the Holy Spirit what He is calling you to do with what you read there. I have a feeling that if we genuinely want to change that he will have something to say about our current situation.
Some food for thought for today and good words from Romans 14 for us to consider:
"The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them."(v.3)
"So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God."(v.12)
"Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister."(v.13)
"If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. 19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble."(v.15-20)
"So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves."(v.22)
It is time to love better and break bread not the body.
