Romans 12:13-16 (NIV)
Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Paul continues his exhortations that are designed to help the whole body live in harmony.
Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. There were plenty of needs in Rome and throughout the Roman world. Not only were famines and plagues common, but there was a large underclass that often went hungry and lacked the necessities of life. Those people existed in the Church as well.
Giving alms to the poor was considered a duty for devout Christians, reflected in the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). But Jesus also commanded that His followers love each other with the same self-sacrificial love that He Himself demonstrated (John 13:34-35, 15:12-14). That means that if one of the brothers or sisters is legitimately in need, it is incumbent on his Christian family, individually and collectively to meet those needs, even if it is a sacrifice. This may go so far as to entail true hospitality, bringing the needy ones into one’s own household, and providing food, clothing, and shelter directly.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. This is exactly what Jesus commanded His followers to do in Matthew 5:43-48, and what Jesus modeled for us on the cross (Luke 23:34). The way of the world is to curse our enemies and those who mistreat us. But the way of the kingdom turns that upside down and blesses and prays for those who are least deserving of it.
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. As members of the same body there is an intimate connection between all of us. We can no longer live as autonomous individuals, only vague affected, if affected at all, by what those around us are going through. It is as if a person hits their thumb with a hammer. Not only does the thumb itself hurt, but the pain affects the whole body, causing an involuntary sympathetic response.
If, on the other hand, the thumb is hit but there is no response from the rest of the body, that is not a sign of superiority, but a sign of serious neurological disease. The body has lost its connection to the head, a problem that will be debilitating and ultimately result in the death of the whole body if it is not corrected.
A person who sees his brother or sister in joy or distress and is not moved by that to a sympathetic joy or distress is a most unfortunate individual. Their cold-heartedness shows that they have lost their connection to the head, Jesus, and are in danger of being lost.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. All three of these go together. The Church is more than a family; it is a body. And as such, no part of the body can feel scorn for or be dismissive of any other part of the body. Instead, as with our physical bodies, there must be a constant understanding that every part is vital to the overall function of the whole, and thus every part must be honored and supported for the role that they play. (1 Corinthians 12:14-26)
Father, these are all impressive and evidently essential to the life of the body of Christ. Help me to enter into the life of the body around me so thoroughly, moved by Your own agape love flooding my heart and all my very being, that every one of these is a characteristic of my life and of my walk with You. Amen.