City Life Starter

I. The Word: Romans 14:5-8

⁵ One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

II. Reflection Questions:

1. Do you gravitate towards people that are just like you culturally?
2. Where’s the line between judgment and a loving warning?
3. What’s the difference between unity, uniformity and unanimity?

Being involved in a building project over the past 17 months I have learned a lot. There are many rules and regulations you have to abide by as absolute truths in the process. There is also a lot of freedom to create and make things the way you would like them to be. There are, of course, many things that are completely subjective based on the person in charge. One inspector will say I want X number of lights and another will he wants Y. In that world you better learn really quickly to not judge too quickly, because not everything is based on a clear set of rules.

Paul here is dealing with a group of believers from many different ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds and is trying to help them navigate unity in the midst of their differences. When dealing with different cultures we typically fall in one of two extremes: either uniformity or unanimity. Uniformity seeks to make everyone look and act the same. Many churches fall into this category with rules of how to dress and act. Don’t watch rated R movies or listen to “secular” music whatever you do.

Unanimity seeks to make everyone think and believe exactly alike all the time and typically doesn’t leave room for outside opinions. Unity, however, is neither uniformity or unanimity and this is what Paul (and Jesus for that matter) are after.

You see this plea for unity here in verses 6 and 7 and ultimately stating, “we are the Lord’s”. Because we are the Lord’s, we can think differently and even act differently according to our gifts and convictions while still having complete unity, because we are not after ourselves and our own interests. We are His implies ownership, submission and love.

Ownership because He is the Creator and has a copyright on everything created. Submission because as “His” we come under His mission and His rule. Love because we freely do this as a proper reaction to His love demonstrated for us in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. When I make myself “His” I am not threatened by differing practices and cultures. In fact I am intrigued to know others and get to know others that have differing opinions to mine. Given a solid foundation on absolutes, we can discuss non-absolutes in absolute unity. God’s way is truly the greatest way!