Epistle of Paul to the Romans 15:1-33
Paul is giving us a crash course in reaching deeply into our humanity.
15:1 Our time on earth is finite and its finite-nature makes our time precious. So why would we waste time arguing and disagreeing with each other, overlooking the meaning of life?: to love and support and become inspired by life in all of its manifestations. The life within each human, the life within each human's expression, the life within plants and other animals. Life within thought and innovation and possibility.
Who among us is infallible? When we see a weakness within another person and Paul refers to spirituality specifically, we are not meant to exploit it. If at all possible, we are meant to humbly strengthen that person. How do we strengthen another person? We live our lives with love and respect and we become a living, breathing, modest testimony. We become a friend and a pillar to anyone who asks for our support.
15:2 God wants us to look for the beauty within individuals. To find another person's beauty, a part within their mind and soul that is kind is to be kind enough to look beyond their flaw. It does not mean to trust everybody or to automatically excuse an evil act or word. To find the beauty in another person is a way and perspective of life itself: of humanity and the globe. It is to not overlook fallibility and mistake but to think more broadly...it is to see the constant balancing people and humanity are working on and to find hope within.
15:3 Jesus' example was to be humble. Not only was He humble, but He was also pure compassion: he accepted that we are flawed but more than that He absorbed us into Him, flaws and all. He opened His door, He proffered His heart and His guidance to anyone who sincerely wished to have it and to work with Him toward betterment. He reveled in diversity; He loved without partiality.
15:4 Jesus' life of teaching extends, alive, even through our generation now. From these blessed words Life encourages us to draw wisdom, comfort, patience and hope from it and into ourselves. For it teaches us to cultivate patience, wisdom and comfort within ourselves. And quite simply: we cannot give to or navigate the word without a strong internal self. Without a patience self. Without being able to see and feel the hope that thrives here on earth.
15:5-6 You might wonder: How can 7 billion+ people have one-mindedness? Yes, there have been and are billions of people on earth and yet each has shared the experience and hum of Life. We each know the joys and the afflictions of life: fear versus safety, illness versus health, love and hate, and all their grey areas. Knowing those things, we each share an intention, we each share a hope. Creating, sustaining and celebrating the joys of life, diminishing, protesting the afflictions is our one-mindedness. Awakening to our purpose, sustaining and celebrating life in all forms and functions and cultures and niches is an awakening to our one-mindedness. It is to transcend beyond and above the cyclical, nonsensical obsession human's have on categorizing each other.
15:7 Receive each other. Welcome people by realizing and becoming inspired by the life processes within them. Much of the world is chaotically busy, arguing and drawing national and regional lines over irrelevant differences, why join in the lunacy when you could awaken to life and purpose?
15:8 Jesus came as a servant. Everyone seems to ask, existentially: why are we here? We are here for each other. Jesus came to cut away the confusion, to clear the flog of greed and selfishness and purposeless in order to reveal our purpose in light and love. We serve each other. What's on your serving tray? Is it kindness, is it hope, is it patience? Or is it something for yourself, not contributing equally to others?
Jesus came to reveal to us the Life, Love, and Light around us. To confirm that we are held in wise and careful Hands. To give us comfort and direction if we allowed ourselves to be enveloped and guided. He came to reassure us that we are not random, that the creation of this earth and all life within it is not happenstance but instead has been carefully, lovingly crafted.
15:9-13 God works to grasp our attention and He always has. From the very beginning He has wanted us to know and find comfort in His presence. In anyone's life who is willing, who is listening, who is knocking, He is going to make Himself known. He promised to love and guide each of us, regardless of anything.
15:14 We put our faith in God but we forget that He puts His faith in us too. He trusts us here on earth to be and do our best, to be purposeful in compassion. He has allowed us to fill ourselves with His knowledge and to use it for the betterment of others.
God trusts us to take His advice into ourselves and into our interactions with others in order to become better, mutually with each other. Our lives are our instruction: our lives speak of the way we believe life is the most fair. We must ensure that the message we are proclaiming to the world is focused and purposeful.
15:15 Paul is reiterating the core points within God's instruction. Guiding and encouraging us to remember that the foundation of everything He is and Has created is life and compassion. At a minimum, we should be contributing to those things.
15:16 Paul came to remind us that we are each God's children, that the differences we see are not acknowledged by God.
15:17 Notice the wisdom and trust in Paul's words: Paul allows God to lead him, to appoint him in specific places and positions where he can contribute and do the most good. Paul is inclusive: his purpose is to include all of God's children.
15:18 Paul simultaneously acknowledges his own fallibility and therefore is aware and cautious of the ways he might veer from God's path. We all work toward betterment, we don't begin or even finish the race here perfect. Yet when we journey to do good and to be purposeful, we journey toward fulfilling our best. When we do our best, we have lived as perfectly as is possible.
Paul reminds us that he does not teach of his own wisdom but of what wisdom He has received from God. Our arrogance contributes to our detriment. Simple wisdom guides us expertly through life. "Obeying God" is not translated well. We join God we align ourselves in accordance with His will, His goodness, His purpose and compassion.
Note that Paul said "what I have said and what I have done." Both what you say and what you do must uniformly reflect each other. Your actions are as testimonial as your words, if not more so. What you do corroborates what you say.
15:19 It is Paul joy and purpose to join people with God, to ensure that everyone realizes their eligibility for His love and wisdom and guidance. In that way, Paul's compassion is exemplary and deep. Paul devoted Himself to ensuring that others could have what had been given to Him by God. Paul abandoned selflessness and redirected himself from purposelessness and for whose benefit? Not his own: Ours.
15:22-24 Paul is writing heartfelt, detailed, passionate, spiritual letters because he is so busy that even those he wishes to, he cannot reach every place by foot. He cares so much for all people that he skips none. Paul finds ways to reach each crevice and city and person on earth that God has given Him access and the ability to.
15:25 Paul promises to visit in person and then speaks of his (full) itinerary.
15:26 We owe each other what we have to contribute. Contributions come in many forms. We can contribute by giving our friendship, by sharing our food, by sharing our insight.
15:27 Moreover we should be pleased to contribute. We should realize we owe each other our compassion. We share life, we share spirituality, we are kindred spirits and we should treat each other as such.
15:28-29 When and wherever you go, go with the full measure of the blessing of God. Allow Him to propel you into happiness and purposefulness, joy and compassion.
15:30-31 The most valuable thing we can ask each other for, and ask for each other, is for God's presence in our lives. Join each other in prayer and in all good things. Paul is a promoter of compassion and justice and therefore he constantly confronts injustice and evil. We are given the strength to do so by God and God maintains our ability to retain that strength through prayer, through faith. The more interconnected our faith and our compassion is, the more we accomplish together.
15:32 Refresh each other. So simply, so sweet, so easy to do and so effective.
15:33 The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
