Love from the center of who you are...

These last few days I’ve been listening to and struggling through Paul’s words in Romans 12, particularly verses 4 through 13 and trying to overlay Paul’s urgent imperatives on my context…

Here's Paul's word's through Peterson's paraphrase,

4-6 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
6-8 If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
11-13 Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Paul’s favorite metaphor (by far!) concerning the church is the human body. It’s used in 1 Cor. 12, Romans 12, and is most developed in Ephesians and Colossians. The simple but effective metaphor is transferable in any and all contexts because everyone has a body and all churches function effectively when individual gifts are being practiced.

In this Romans text, commentators (like Moo from the New International Commentary on the NT, 1996) note the urgency in Paul's voice while communicating these imperatives. Paul's tension with the Roman churches is obvious.

I love how Peterson paraphrases Paul, "let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't." And later... "Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it."

Gives the indication that the church had some issues with comparison, manipulative leaders, apathy and laziness, bickering with each other, among other stuff. Sound familiar?

I'm confident Paul would throw a good fit if he were to evaluate our western churches based on his human body metaphor. Noting the differences between ours and his ancient context... We're wealthier, most are literate, many have university degrees, we likely won't get killed if we pledge exclusive allegiance to Jesus. I picture him hanging his head as he observes how adulterous and marked by the ways of the empire that we are.

But then he'd likely raise his head back up and say something like "keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality."

Our times call for greater depths of mentoring and discipleship helping others understand what it means to live as alert servants of the Master finding a center of which to live from.

Comments

[Jason Nate]

This is my number one goal for the upcoming school year:

if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

[Doug Nolte]

How do you suppose Jesus and Paul would interact with each other had they walked the earth at the same time?

On another note and paradoxically, perhaps Paul would be showing up at our churches to preach the gospel. . .