Rereading Romans Chapter 12

Reading Romans 12 over and over again.

Wow.

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." - Romans 12:1-21 ESV

I see the first and last verse in this chapter as bookend. They hold the sandwich together. Both ideas need to be kept in mind in order to even attempt to pick any of this up. Bitterness and comparison can happen if we try to do any of this with out those two concepts in mind.

These two ideas:

- We worship God through 'presenting our bodies for action'.

- Evil seeks to overcome us and others. This worship can overcome evil in the world. 

I see an order here. Right after 'mind renewal' is having the humility to be a part of a group of people joined in this common cause. Then he speaks of conduct done among those people. Then conduct done to everyone else. Lastly, he speaks of love for ones enemies. Each thing orients us for the next thing. 

Oh God... renew us in our thinking today. As we re-read this chapter give us creativity in allying it. We fix our eyes on Jesus. This chapter is a description of His ministry. We want to live as an extension of that. Jesus is our Shepard. He leads us as overcomers into victory over darkness. Thank you God. Thank You. Thank You.  

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