(Romans 15:7)
The early church here in Rome was making adjustments to their new found faith and practise. Both Jew and Gentile Christians, were struggling in the changes of their new position in Christ, and they were having a hard time accepting one another in the Christian fellowship.
Not so different from our churches today. In our own Christian walk, it is a struggle to give up what we once loved, and lived for, to totally live and serve our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we profess to be Christians, but yet we struggle with the desires for the worldly things.
And the reason that there is a decline in church attendance, and the closing of so many churches, is the failure to accept each other in the partnership of the Gospel, and the selfish ambitions, we try to impose upon the fellowship.
When those, individually, or as a group, do not get their way, they leave, and pursue another place, where they can impose their selfish interests and ambitions.
We are to accept each other, as Christ accepted us. We are all sinners, standing in the grace of God; and we are all to be partners in reaching the lost for Christ. Why is that so hard to understand? and most of all, to maintain?
When the petty things overshadow the priority matters, that's when our fellowship in Christ, is in trouble! GP
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