I was glancing at the Biblegateway app's 'verse of the day' and it directed me to Romans 12:12 which reads...
Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. (Romans: 12:12, CSB)
Sometimes the 'verse of the day' seems like generic Biblical wisdom that can be anything you really want it to be. I sometimes call these highly adaptable verses "coffee mug verses" because you can imagine printing them on a novelty coffee mug and selling them in a Christian bookstore. However, this one hit a little harder. Over the last 3-4 weeks I feel like I've spoken with church member after church member who seems to be going through a rough time. Seeing the words of Paul calling on us to remain hopeful, patient, and prayerful in our worst times reminds me of how hard it is sometimes to be the perfect Christian we see described in the Bible.
This verse caught my attention so much that I decided to dig a bit deeper; I always find it useful to look at scriptural context whenever I see a stand-alone verse. In this case, our Bibles will greet us with a section labeled something like "Christian Morality" or "Christian Ethics". It's a great section and I encourage all of you to read it. What I wanted to do was distill down the entire section to a set of bullet points which describe what it means to live a life as a moral or ethical Christian...
Love honestly. (v9)
Honor one another. (v10)
Serve the Lord energetically. (v11)
Cling to hope. (v12)
Be generous & charitable. (v13)
Love your enemies. (v14)
Be empathetic. (v15)
Live peacefully. (v16, 18)
Be humble. (v16)
Do not seek revenge or justification. (v17, 19, 20)
Seek to do good. (v21)
As I look through this list, I can see several items where I regularly fall short. Can you? Sections of the Bible, such as this, confront us with exactly how high the bar is set for perfection and purity. It reminds us that we are imperfect souls who desperately need Christ. How much more joyful should be we, then, with the knowledge that Christ has come and afforded grace to us all?
Take a moment to look at this list and see areas where you are strong and areas where you are weak. After taking stock in your weaknesses, take joy in the Lord knowing that he pursues us despite our imperfections and forgives us just the same!
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