Romans 14 concludes that we the church are not to be so focused on the nonessentials in the lives of other believers that we become distracted from what God calls important and that we believe it is our job to pass judgment on the disputable matters seen in others. The reality is, God places great emphasis on harmonious relationships in the church!
Paul and Silas are arrested, they were accused of teaching customs that were not illegal for Romans, they were beaten, they were thrown into the inner prison, and their feet were fastened into stocks. They followed all of that with praying and singing hymns at a volume that the prisoners could hear what they were saying and singing – and it was midnight!
In one of his interviews, the actor Jack Nicholson revealed that he was against abortion. The reporter asked why. Jack revealed that his own mother was faced with that choice, and she ultimately decided against it.
“My only emotion is gratitude, literally, for my life. [If my mother and grandmother had been] of less character, I never would have gotten to live. These women gave me the gift of life,” he said.
So, instead of making sure everyone knows your side of the story first, choose to follow how God wants you to handle the division. Division is a spiritual need! Spiritual needs cannot be fulfilled with fleshly means. So, anger, yelling, gossip, bitterness, and slander are not the pathway to resolve spiritual needs. These things only complicate the issue further!
Jesus’ birth happened just like God said it would. He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. He was born in a humble stable and laid in a manger. He was named Jesus and three decades later He was “wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities” — just like the prophet Isaiah foretold hundreds of years earlier
We must stay clear on who God is. In our study of Acts 13-14 we have seen that God is sovereign, love, longsuffering, merciful, all-powerful, and all-knowing. No matter what your circumstances seem to tell you, you know from God’s own word that He is these things. You know that sometimes your circumstances do not tell you the whole story about God, but that you must choose to trust God!
