The Romance of Romans-Part 98

Romans Chapter 14 cont'd

I know by personal revelation from the Lord Jesus, that no material thing is intrinsically evil, but to the person who views it as unholy, it really is for him. If your fellow believer's heart is grieved by observing your liberty to eat anything, then you're not doing what love would dictate. Don't crush another believer's spirit by your not sacrificing a petty liberty when Christ sacrificed his very life for him! Be concerned about even good things you do that are easily misconstrued as being improper.
For the Kingdom of God cannot be reduced to personal and cultural preferences like habits of eating and drinking, but it is defined by the transcendent realities of righteousness, peace and joy which are inseparably linked to the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit.
If you will embrace these values in your service for Christ, you will have favor with and affirmation from both God and others.

Comments:

The passage above paints a picture of the true freedom enjoyed by the children of God. We are liberated in our hearts to receive and embrace all the good gifts of our heavenly Father that he has provided for us through his creation. In fact, we are so free and our perspective is so keen, that we are able to actually "see" the crowning touch of the original creation...other human beings that are made in his image. We are so free, that We would quickly sacrifice a legitimate use of something God has made, if another still views that use as illegitimate. Children of God are so free that they are behaviorally flexible and adaptable in the various relational/cultural environments and situations of life...all for the higher purpose and priority of loving and connecting with others for the honor of Christ.

Do you find it odd that the same "behavior" in two people can either be proper or improper in the eyes of God depending on the state of the consciences...the perspectives...of those two individuals? This principle, of course, does not apply to all behaviors...but to the "non-essentials" of life...cultural preferences, as I call them. (What kinds of behaviors do you think might be on such a list?! I remember being a bit culturally challenged when our family was eating dinner with one of the most godly and humble men I have ever met. He had been imprisoned for his faith in China for over 20 years simply because he wouldn't "say" to the prison officials, "I don''t believe in Jesus." In joyful celebration of the gift of food we were enjoying, he boldly belched several times during our meal...with a big smile on his face! My grandmother would have been mortified. It wasn't quite as easy to tell my young children to "behave" themselves at dinner after that!)

I actually find this Romans 14 "way of God" intriguing and joy-inspiring. It counters the temptation for me to know and control everything in my world. It challenges my fleshly desire to precisely know, ahead of time, what the right course will be for me and/or others to take. When it comes to these kinds of matters, the "code" for living in the genuine freedom of the children of God is not written on stones, or comprehensively recorded in a book of the Bible. Rather, it is "encoded" into the renewed heart and mind of an individual child of God by the Holy Spirit himself who indwells her or him. The child of God is encouraged to continually be alive and alert to the Spirit of God who is also alive and moving within their being in real time. We grow to learn to "mind" the Holy Spirit, as children "mind" their parents. We are not actually called to live by a "code", but by "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus". By this we discover the "mind of Christ".

It is this dynamic that will inform us...in every situation where we are placed by our Father..."What the love of Jesus looks like right here and right now?" And knowing this and living it out is true freedom!