Committed to His Church
Romans 12:3–16
Some of our most inglorious moments as parents are the moments when we let ourselves get outsmarted by the wee lads and lasses God has entrusted into our care. I still look back in disbelief at a rookie mistake I made with my own sons when they were just six and four.
I asked my older son, “Samuel, where would you like to go for dinner, McDonalds or Milo’s?” “Milo’s,” Samuel replied. Mission accomplished. But then, I did it. As if it were my very first day as a parent, I actually turned to my younger son and asked the same question. “McDonalds,” Elijah firmly replied.
Of course he did. As I was actually a bit more in the mood for Milo’s, I cajoled and badgered Elijah until I finally convinced him to change his choice. “Milo’s is fine,” he conceded. At which point, my older son piped up and said, “Then I want to go to McDonalds.” Of course he did.
As a parent, I should have known that the natural self-centeredness of two little kids would get the best of them in our ill-fated search for fast food. The truth is though, it is not just little children who struggle with self-centeredness. Self-centeredness lies at the very heart of our fallen human condition.
The two greatest commandments, love God and love your neighbor, are trained with laser-like precision on our chief struggle as human beings, the struggle to place God and others ahead of our own desires.
Believers are one body in Christ. (3–5)
When the Apostle Paul turns in Chapter 12 of Romans to the practical matter of how believers ought to relate to one another, it is the issue of self-centeredness that he takes on most forcefully.
His first sentence summarizes everything that follows: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.” Paul then goes on to flesh out this idea, stringing together a series of explanations and admonitions designed to encourage unity in the Church. In verses 4–5, Paul underscores the fact that as believers, we are all part of one body, the body of Christ. Expanding on this metaphor, Paul says that in the same way that a body has many “members,” the body of Christ has many members. And this is key: “Each member belongs to all the others.” To be a part of the body of Christ is to recognize that we no longer belong strictly to ourselves. Other believers have a claim on us.
Believers are to use their gifts to support the body. (6–8)
One of the ways Paul urges his readers to live out their membership in the body of Christ is to bless their fellow believers with the spiritual gifts God has given them. Put simply, everyone is to “pitch in.” Some preach, some teach, some serve, some encourage, some give, but all do something to build up their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
One of the things I miss most from the small church in which I grew up is our potluck suppers. Every month or two the ladies in the church would bring their best dishes, and a feast worthy of Solomon’s table would commence. In a small way, these potluck dinners were a reflection of what Paul has in mind here. All brought what they could, and everyone had more than enough. When we all share our specific spiritual gifts with one another, every need gets met.
Believers are to love each other as they serve the Lord together. (9–16)
Paul concludes with a catalog of short instructions that foster unity in the Church the same way proverbs (like those in the Book of Proverbs) foster wisdom. Each one focuses on a different aspect of our own responsibilities toward other believers.
What unites all of these individual instructions is one key idea: “Honor one another above yourselves.” When we do this, all of the other ways we should love and care for one another will fall naturally into place.
By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University
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