Each time I read the bible I come to it with a different perspective. Not because the word or God has changed, but because I have changed. One of the sections that stood out to me this past week is Romans 15: 5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What a prayer! We should pray this over all of our Christian brothers and sisters because isn’t this the end goal? Shouldn’t we all be striving to have the same attitude of mind as Jesus? And what are Jesus’ thoughts toward me? Love. Jesus loved every person he came in contact with even those who wanted to harm him. Jesus came to offer salvation to everyone, even those he might not have liked at the time. And if we all had the attitude of Christ, what would be the end result? Glory to God the Father!
So maybe I’m struggling with praying for and forgiving someone who has hurt me. Or maybe I need help loving a family member that just really gets on my nerves. Or trying to avoid someone who thinks differently than me. What is the answer? First of all, we need to ask for some of that endurance and encouragement in verse 5. God will be faithful to provide it. But most important, we must love. Have the same attitude of mind toward that person as Jesus Christ has. Look at them the way God looks at them. He created each person specifically for a purpose and we should love them for who they are supposed to be. And we should pray for them when they haven’t quite got there yet. Because I haven’t either. And I need others to love me along the way.
Be more Christlike. Think like Jesus. Love the world!
Romans is a great theological book. Paul takes the Romans (and us) through what we should believe and then instructs on how they (and we) should behave because of those beliefs. We have had a great time studying and discussing this book in our home churches. Check out the videos on our Youtube playlist if you missed the lessons.
