“That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it. Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us . God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next. May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!”
Romans 15:4 MSG – A verse of the day from the Bible presented in Eugene Peterson’s contemporary version called The Message. Accompanied by a personal reflection below.
So, here’s the thing of it, people: it’s great that you are a believer and all, but do you think you could possibly “develop maturity” in your Christian life? And what exactly does that mean, you say? Well, Paul describes it as the ability to “get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all.” Perhaps that may sound simplistic, but the fact is that it does take some doing to keep one’s calm in the face of strife and conflict, and to present oneself in a responsible and clear way. Developing relationships with our fellowmen from all walks of life (think of the people that Jesus hung out with) that reflects a caring, helpful, and gracious attitude, being slow to anger, and long-suffering in building bridges and bearing olive-branches — that is the kind of maturity that would serve us well in our Christian walk. Because in doing so, you are reflecting Christ himself — one who did not flinch to speak his mind and preach the imminent Kingdom of God and the way to it, and yet was the last to lift a finger to condemn the weak and fallen. Are you maturing in your Christian walk?
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