Session 14

The One Party Where Everyone Is Invited

From Romans: A 16-Day Devotional

One of the best things about Jesus is that He invites us all to have a seat at the table with Him. One of the hardest things about Jesus is that He invites us ALL to have a seat at the table with Him.

Picture a table surrounded by:

• People who drink, and people who do not.
• People who curse, and people who do not.
• People who go to churches with 100 people, and people who go to churches with 30,000 people.
• People who have grown up in church, and people who have not.

So many people from so many backgrounds in such close proximity will inevitably result in differences of opinion.

Every person we meet doesn’t have to feel convicted about the same things we do.

In Romans 14, the apostle Paul spends 23 verses teaching us to lovingly agree to disagree. In Paul’s day, major divisions were happening over who ate kosher and who did not, who drank wine and who did not. Thousands of years later, we’re still struggling with the same tensions.

What connects Christians to one another is not what we do, but Who we follow. We are all saved by grace through faith in Jesus. The person who drinks wine and the person who doesn’t drink at all are recipients of the same grace. Neither is breaking God’s commands, but only one has felt a conviction to forgo wine completely.

Every person we meet doesn’t have to feel convicted about the same things we do. Not only is that OK, that’s the way it should be. The Lord does not call us to all eat the same foods, He only asks that we eat the foods we have, together.

Reflect:

• What are some things in your life that you feel conviction to do or not to do that might be different from some other Christians you know?
• Has there been a time recently when you disagreed with another Christian over a conviction or belief?
• How can you more peacefully disagree with those whose plates look different than yours?