Ripple Effects — Romans 14

A text — Romans 14:1-12
14:1 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions.
14:2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.
14:3 Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them.
14:4 Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
14:5 Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.
14:6 Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.
14:7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.
14:8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
14:9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
14:10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
14:11 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.”
14:12 So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

A reflection:

Verse 7 is a real pearl of wisdom. There are real life examples before it in verses 1-6, and after it in verse 10. But this is the pearl: “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.”

I don’t know about you, but I regularly only of myself. And so I pretend I am living only to myself a lot of the time. By that I mean I make decisions based on how the results will make me feel or set me up for success. But Paul here is making the case that, all in all, when it is all said and done, we will not have lived only for ourselves. Our lives will have ripple effects going far out beyond us, whether we realize it or not. What we do affects the whole world, in the end.

I must remind myself also that it is not for me to judge the overarching purpose of other people’s lives and decisions, for each of them will stand before the Lord for what has happened in their lives. So will I. We do not live to ourselves or die to ourselves (alone). Everyone else is affected. And the Lord will judge. With mercy. And with God’s supreme knowledge of all those ripples we will have made.

I conduct funerals from time to time – it is my third career. And I can honestly tell you that sometimes I have been surprised to see not just the 3 or 4 people we expect to attend the funeral, but instead dozens showing up to remember the person who has died. Why? Some little thing he did, some act of kindness she offered, some word of grace at exactly the point it was needed, created a field of peace around even the most unconnected, seemingly obscure people that lasts beyond their own lives. Ripple effects can move the world. In good times or bad times.

What are the ripples you have been making? And what do they mean to the Lord you’ll stand before?

A prayer:

Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Make us aware of our choices and how we live and die to you. Help us keep a sense of proportion for who and whose we are. And help us realize what that does to others around us.   Amen.