15:7
We should remember how Christ welcomed us, and then remember that He has welcomed our Christian brothers and sisters in the same way. We came with nothing but unworthiness, looking to Him for mercy and salvation. As time goes on there are times when we are acutely aware of our weaknesses and failings. There are brief times of despair at ourselves, or even self loathing, but the mercy, discipline and training of the Lord accept us and step by step change us. If we look back there are ways in which we have developed, things we understand now that we did not understand before, and an awareness of how far we still have to go. And all this work of mercy in our lives is for His glory. So we should have the same attitude towards others, the same patience and hope, and for the same glory.
15:8,9
We see here the linking of Christ’s work among the Jews and the Gentiles. Now what is Paul thinking of here? It seems that he is thinking both of the immediate context of our attitudes towards each other, and what he said earlier about the place of the Jews in God’s plan. Christ came to confirm the promises given in the Old Testament, both concerning the salvation of Israel and the salvation of the world. So we are to glorify God for His mercy, not for how “clever” we are, for we aren't really that clever at all.
Characteristically Paul quotes Scripture, Psalm 18:49
No comments:
Post a Comment