Romans 14:13-19

I just love Sunday School. I love the intimate study of God's word and the fellowship with great people. It always proves to be a time of great encouragement and uplifting. Yesterday, we were continuing our lesson of Psalm 23, but one of the verses we read was Romans 14: 19-

"So then, we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another."

My father has always taught the importance of context. Right away, I noticed the words "so then." So, obviously, I had to see what this "so then" was referring to. I jumped up a verse and found this:

"Whoever serves the Messiah  in this way is acceptable to God and approved by men."

Of course, then I started to wonder "What is this way that this verse is referring to?" So, again I jumped up to verse 13 and read these beautiful words:

"Therefore, let us no longer criticize one another, but instead decide not to put a stumbling block or pitfall in your brother's way. (I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, to that one it is unclean. )  For if your brother is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. By what you eat, do not destroy that one for whom Christ died. Therefore, do not let your good be slandered, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking,  but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit."

You probably are thinking that my next question was "what is this therefore there for?" But no, I stopped here =) Let me now explain my thoughts on this passage of scripture. And yes, I am going to dissect it backwards considering that is the order in which I read it.

Verse 19 is just beautiful to me. I love the way it says we must pursue. So many times I think we are forgetful that we are to pursue the good, the peaceful, the righteous. I know that in scripture we are constantly reminded of God's love and how he pursues us, but that is a part of it. We must also pursue. We must be chasing God with all our hearts and we must be pursuing Him as well.

Verse 18 is one of those verses that is like a prize in a way. Like this is what you want to get, but how do you get it? How do you become acceptable to both man AND God? What door do I open for this great prize?

Well, verses 13-17 tell us. I love how in the version I read this in (Holman) this section is entitled "The Law of Love". I think reading through this, you see why.

This whole section is talking about not criticizing and not being a stumbling block to others. But it takes it one step further. It mentions in verse 14 how to one person something might appear to be unclean and to that makes it unclean.

What does this mean really?

It means that we are each keepers of our own opinion, our own view, our own thoughts. To one person, it might not be bad to drink a glass of wine with dinner if you are at an appropriate age. But to someone else, that could be a horribly unclean thing to do, regardless of if according to the law it's perfectly legal. So, when in the company of this person, you must refrain from this because to them it is a stumbling block.

I know that I have thought this for years. Never do something that could hurt your witness....but it goes deeper than that. Its not just about hurting your witness, but hurting the chance of salvation for another individual. One thing that I see as simple could cause them to not understand the love of my Father. One wrong word or action or choice of clothing could be that stumbling block to push them away.

This is just a section that is a good reminder for me, especially going into college and a new living situation. Some things I won't think are horrible, but if someone else does, I must respect that person in order to show the love of Christ and to prevent myself from being that stumbling block.

Hope you enjoyed my ramblings. Share your thoughts on this-I would love to hear what you think =)