Let God be God through you!

Romans 15

With everything going on in the world today there are many discussions and no end to opinions. In chapter 14 we read that a man’s faith in the Lord and his conscience should be his guide on the things that are non-essentials. Our love for others should cause us to make wise choices about what we do and why we do things.

Paul wraps up that thought in this chapter. Ultimately Jesus is our guide regarding what is right and wrong. There is a lot of talk always about, “what are my rights?” I hear it all of the time in marriage counseling situations. We need to remember we are in this for eternity not just our short lives. Paul states that even Jesus did not live to simply please himself. He is our example of how we should live. Of course we have rights, however we don’t have the right to do something in front of a brother or sister that would cause them to stumble or sin. The contrary is true, we have the obligations to live our lives in a disciplined way that may inconvenience us sometimes but helps others to stand strong and see Jesus in us. Ultimately it was Jesus love of His Father and love of the people that caused Him to lay down His life for all people. Love should be our driving force for everything

We can not allow someone’s heritage or background stop them from being valued in Christ. There was still a division between Jew and Gentile in Rome. Paul addressed that by showing various Old Testament scriptures that testify to God’s ultimate plan of grace to all peoples from even before Christ life on earth. There is no sin, no heritage, no ethnicity, or any other thing that limits God’s love and desire to bring people to Him. We must believe that it is the Father’s heart that regardless of the way a person comes to Christ, that God has chosen them and that we must not reject them. Once again it is placing others first and laying our view of who can and can’t come to Christ.

Ultimately allow Christ to shine through us and settle all the arguments by seeing the miracles happen as we pray for people. Paul is saying here, let me explain something to you, while there may be all kinds of discussions of what may be right or wrong allow the fruit of the power of God in my life be the witness. Paul was showing that God saw fit to show His power through Paul to reach out to the Gentiles. Two things are important about that; first that God was reaching a people that the Jews didn’t think deserved to be reached and second like Pentecost it was the amazing gifts from God that He used through Paul to reach the Gentiles.

God wants us to reach out to all the people around us. It doesn’t matter how we feel about them nor do our prejudices matter. God wants us to be open to sharing this life changing message to everyone He brings across our path we need to have His compassion and love. If you are filled with the Spirit of God you also have access to all the gifts of God, don’t be afraid to use the gifts He has made available to you, to touch the lives of people around you. That is why He has filled you with His Spirit!

Is there someone in your life that you have developed a prejudice toward? Someone perhaps that you don’t have a heart for but God keeps bringing into your path? Come into agreement with the Lord and allow Him to show you how to reach them. Ask Him to give you opportunities to allow the Holy Spirit to flow through you to change their world. God loves them and wants them to come to Him and He wants to use you to do it. Let Him!