ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 20, 2020
Scripture: Romans 12:10-16
Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. Contribute to the needs of God’s people, and welcome strangers into your home. Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them. Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying. Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don’t think that you’re so smart.
Thought for the Day: Could Paul pack any more information into a handful of sentences? I doubt it! I’d invite you to do what I have done — read the above scripture silently, then read it out loud, and then focus on one or two specific statements that challenge you. Personally, I have been reading over and over again the words, “Bless people who harass you — bless and don’t curse them.” The word Bless in the original Greek is: Eulogeo. It is where we get our English word, Eulogy – to say a good word. Maybe it is an invitation for me to search for something good about the person who is harassing me, for though folks might be negative or mean, I imagine God can still find a nugget of goodness within them. And if God can, maybe I should try.
Prayer: You want us to be more like Jesus, Merciful God, and if I am to be more like Jesus, then I must not mimic the way of those who seek to cause me pain. Allow your Spirit to raise me up, and in doing so, increase my capacity to see something good even when it is a challenge. Amen.
