No One Lives Alone

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

NO ONE LIVES ALONE

Rom 14:5-8

5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

NIV

This is the continuation of what Paul started regarding those who have strong faith and those who have weaker faith, which we believe is due to the amount of exercise of the measure of faith God gives to every person. He started with food and is now dealing with how each approaches our days, whether we think certain days are more sacred then another or whether we see each day alike. Certainly, in many of the churches today there are special days Christians consider as holy, or sacred. Currently, we are beginning this Lenten season, with some celebrating this with Ash Wednesday, which as far as we can see is more traditional than biblically based. Yet, each must make up his own mind. Then we have Good Friday and Easter, which are indeed special days in the life of the Church that are biblically based. With Christmas somewhat considered the time of Christ coming to Earth as a baby, although some refer to it as the birth of Jesus, however, how can Jesus who was in the beginning and created all that was created, be born except as born as in taking on the form of man. Nevertheless, most celebrate that event, yet not so much in a biblical sense, as many have the children put on plays that include the three wise men, along with all our nativity sets that have both the shepherds and wise men together, but that is alright to see it traditionally.  Most accept this is a holy or sacred day, but it is not entirely in line with scripture. Again and again, we have some who look to sacred days and some who do not, but that is once more to each mans own mind, and however someone is convinced, as far as believers are concerned, they are living for the Lord, and give thanks to the Lord for whatever he sees these days as being. Paul brings back into play the idea of food again using that to say that however each of us believes about eating or abstaining we all do it to the Lord, for none of us are an island onto ourselves, as we live to the Lord, and we die to the Lord, as we all belong to the Lord. So let us not get ourselves all tied up in knots about the secondary or tertiary truths as long as we all agree on the primary truths about God. Sometimes we could allow ourselves to get entrenched in useless debate or even become judgmental of those who we disagree with regarding issues that the scripture may or may not speak directly, or clearly to, or those who have adapted some traditions over the truth. Once again, it would be incumbent upon us to love one another as we love ourselves as we all live in and for the Lord, as none of us lives alone. Therefore, it is not up to us to change someone’s mind as long as they are living for the Lord, and not living for themselves, because none of us live without the Lord, none of us are alone.