WE BELONG TO THE LORD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

Romans 14:1-8

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Where does God fit into the world we live in today?

Is He a priority, treated like He is the Creator and Master of all creation or is He more of an afterthought, shoved to side into the recesses of life?

As much as I hate to admit it, I’m afraid that the latter is more the norm than the exception. I’m not a pessimist or a fatalist by any means but I am a realist and it’s difficult to see where our world is heading, even if the Bible clearly informs us that a decline into ungodliness is coming.

Yes, take a good look at the way most people are living and you won’t find God at the center. In fact, you might not see Him at all.

Millions upon millions of people live this life like they are entitled to it, like somehow they deserve it.

They don’t.

For in its most base, fundamental form, life is a privilege, a gift given to us by God, the Maker and Ruler over all things. Life belongs to God. He is the One who grants it and He is the One in control of every intricate detail.

And yet, the same people who live like they merit life also feel as if they are in control. They think they can do it all on their own and don’t see the need for anyone else’s assistance. They also struggle needlessly when they begin to realize that there is just too much in life that is out of their control. If only they would just turn to the God who dictates everything, the God through which all things are possible.

There’s been an old saying that’s been around for as long as I can remember. It simply implores a person to “Let go and let God”. We would be well served to always put this recommendation to use, placing our full reliance on the God of matchless power.

Here’s another thing, an extension of the control problem. For not only do a troubling multitude of the world’s population choose to control their lives, they try and control other people’s lives as well. If you don’t believe that, then ask yourself how many times someone has tried to tell you how to live, like they are a greater authority or something, like they know more about life than the God who created life.

I wonder how God feels about the way so many people are living?

I can’t imagine He is pleased with it all, especially when the real truth is that everyone belongs to God. He is our Heavenly Father God and we are all His children. Yes, we have earthly parents but we no more belong to them as Jesus belonged to Joseph and Mary. God appointed the Nazareth couple to raise up His Son but Jesus was always about His Father’s business, capital F. Likewise, God entrusts His children to parents who bring them into His creation and then watch over them until they reach adulthood. They then can have the opportunity to be parents and gain the absolute privilege to raise God’s kids themselves. It’s a perpetual cycle as God continually renews the population that swells within what He has made.

All things belong to Him, the One through which all things came.

This is the point Paul is trying to get through to his Roman audience as we look at the opening eight verses of chapter 14 today. Look again at his words here:

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

The scriptures here remind us that we don’t have the right to try and control others, to impress our will over theirs in life. Not everyone has the same level of faith. It was true in Paul’s day and it’s still true today. A weaker faith might have someone believe and practice their beliefs in a way different from someone more spiritually mature. In the example used by Paul, dietary restrictions, or the lack thereof, were a source of conflict in the church. Some new Christian believers felt that they should abstain from meat while other more seasoned Christians held a belief that eating anything was permissible.

Was it really wrong if a Christian felt they should eat only vegetables?

Not anymore wrong than someone who felt it was fine to eat whatever they wanted.

In the new covenant God had made with His people, nothing was off limits unless He dictated it was and God had not dictated dietary restrictions on His people outside of making sure people knew that their bodies were to be treated right and one could argue this meant making sure diets were predominantly healthy. Even with that, God didn’t mandate what a person should or shouldn’t eat and if it wasn’t an issue with God, He didn’t expect His people to make it an issue. If people ate, giving Him the glory than that was great. Ditto for anyone who felt they were glorifying God by abstaining. As long as the Lord was the focal point, that’s what mattered most.

Did I mention God is in control and all things belong to Him?

He is our Master and we are all subservient to Him. Period.  

In the end translation, we don’t live or die for ourselves alone. Rather, we live and die for the Lord, the One we all belong to, the One who longs for us to belong to Him for all eternity.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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