“Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.” (Romans 14:13-15)
The Lord has been calling Lifespring into a new season; a season marked by maturity!
As we sense God calling us to be mature children, to grow… we must remember to get rid of the junk in our lives that holds us back! Because when we have too much garbage, there is limited space for anything new to happen.
However, regardless of how difficult it might be for us to purge and leave our hoarding tendencies behind, we get to engage with what God is doing because we know that as the children of God we are Beloved. We are fully seen and fully known and fully loved, through and through.
It is only after building a foundation based on the Law of Love in Romans 13:8-10, that Paul calls the believers in Rome higher with the passage above. In Romans 14, he raises the standard and connects with each and every listener, encouraging them to begin living differently!
Although the issues they were facing in Rome are quite different from the discussion points we have now, there are some really important themes that we can and must apply to our lives today.
We too need to stop passing judgments on the people we encounter and become more aware of the ways that we might be causing our brothers and sisters to stumble! Paul never distinguishes what the correct answer is; it’s not about right and wrong in the way his original readers might have expected.
The right thing is to act in love towards our brothers and sisters in Christ and the wrong thing is to judge others!
Later, in verses 17-18, Paul writes:
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.”
When we change the conversation away from being about rights and wrongs we’re able to look much deeper at where our hearts are truly postured.
When we approach one another with love, first and foremost, we begin to see one another as fellow children of God who were created to reflect God’s image to the world… to us!
Our journey into maturity with the Lord, ultimately, requires us to take off the masks we put on daily. It requires us to be fully honest with ourselves and with our Creator. Because, guess what? He already knows everything about you. And he’s not scared of you and he is not ashamed of you and he is not disgusted with you! He is not appalled by how much you have changed and he is not looking for reasons to disown you or cut you off.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Imagine if this burden God gives us isn’t actually about heavy vs. light and was rather about darkness vs. light. What if part of our burden as the people of God is that the light of God shines on us and actually exposes the sin and brokenness within us?!
What if this burden of light exposing the sin within us was actually met by an easy yoke… rather than cords of punishment? What if we actually believe God when he declares his love over us? What if we actually believed the prophet Zephaniah who describes the Lord as being in our midst, being mighty to save AND singing and rejoicing over us?!
Consider this passage from Zephaniah 3:14-20 as you head into another week and a new month of becoming a more mature child of God…
“Sing, Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
“I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.
At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.
I will give them praise and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.
At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes
before your very eyes,”
says the LORD.”