Unity or Discord

 

“Now may the God, who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement, grant that you be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,”

— Romans 15:5

 

My Interpretation of this verse after reading the Greek words is:

“Now May God, who gives you His strength to persevere and who inspires you, give each of you together the same mind, according to Christ Jesus, who made you one in mind (not discordant), with Him through the salvation He gave you.”

 

Notice that God gives His strength to persevere and His inspiration for how to be and live. 

 

Notice, also, Jesus gave the believers salvation and gave them the ability to be of the same mindset, not in opposition. 

 

What did Paul say the Roman Christians were to do? Choose to be of the same mind with other believers. Choose to seek and receive from God the strength to live in unity like Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Choose to live life as God divinely inspires. Choose to be united/harmonious with the other Christians.  Recognize the three main verbs—choose. 

 

Being in harmony with other people is a matter of your will. Will you choose to be like the Son, Father, and Spirit, to be unified? Will you accept and use the strength God offers His children? Will you choose to live your life as God inspires and guides you? 

 

Jesus chose to follow the will of the Godhead, of which He is a part. He gave up His human will of preservation of self. He chose to follow the divine will of offering Himself as the holy sacrifice needed to redeem people from their sins and the guilt of their sins. He gives believers the power over temptation with His strength.

 

Jesus chose to be united with God. Their love for humanity, though unlovely we are, led them to provide this sacrifice. Jesus willed for each of us to be united with God, to be in harmony with Him. 

 

Do you choose to be in harmony with God?

Will you choose to have the mind of Christ? 

Will you be united with God and other believers in mind and purpose?

 

Consider Philippians 2:5-11:

 

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason, also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name, which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

Will you choose unity with God or discordant chaos of life and mind?

 

Romans 15:6 gives us the reason we should be in unity. It says, “so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify and praise and honor the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (AMP).

 

You have a choice to make today.

Kicking the Goads

And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ Acts 26:14 [NASB]

Each of us has rebelled against someone or something. We tell ourselves we can control ourselves without that law; it’s for other people who have few morals. Or, we might say, “You aren’t the boss of me.” The reality is other people are our superiors at home, work, and school because of their titles or education. Though our human side rarely wants to accept and submit, this truth has been around since God created Adam then Eve. They knew God and who He was in relation to them. When we read that Adam and Eve hid from God after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:8). They recognized they rebelled against God when they chose to eat from the one tree God told them not to eat its fruits. By hiding from God, they showed they recognized His superiority. In resigned recognition of their sin at God’s continued calling to them, they acknowledged God as their LORD and accepted their discipline and tasks from Him.

Saul (Paul) had been a leading Pharisee of the Pharisees. He sought to exceed far beyond the other Pharisees and to have a reputation as the best Pharisee, one who quelled a sect, an offshoot of Jews, who followed a man from Nazareth named Jesus (Acts 26:4-5, Galatians 1:13-14). Saul saw Jesus as just a carpenter’s son and His followers as people deluded or hysterical, but still leading others astray. He convinced some followers to blaspheme against Jesus, but he had others killed. Saul had no qualms in doing whatever he thought necessary to stop the growth and life of this group.

As Saul journeyed to Damascus to do his work against Jesus and His followers, he encountered Jesus. Jesus spoke to him as a light from heaven brighter than the sun shining around him and the others traveling with him. This vividly bright light caused him and his co-travelers to fall prostrate to the ground (Acts 26:12-14a). With Saul’s acknowledgement of someone or something greater around him and automatically falling prostrate, he heard the voice of that One. Jesus asked Saul, “Why are you persecuting Me?” Why are you causing harm to My body, the people who believe in Me and are doing what I commanded them? Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, “To the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” Why was Saul rebelling so hard against Jesus and even willing to imprison, whip, and kill His followers? Saul had ambition. His ambition was to be the best of the Jews and the best of the Pharisees. He’d forgotten the real goal for the first covenant people was to follow God by keeping His commandments. God never told Saul to persecute Jesus’ followers. Saul’s own interpretation of being the best Pharisee meant he should punish and stop anything or anyone who took the Jews away from what he knew came from God. To be better, in Saul’s mind, was to be rigid in defense of the God’s commandments, laws, and precepts. He felt people must see him as standing strongly for God’s laws. Saul had been so caught up on doing for God that He forgot to listen for and to God. Possibly, he heard God’s voice but instead determined to advance in his career. Besides this, he could have feared becoming a member of what the Jewish leaders called a sect of Judaism. Additionally, he could have heard God’s voice, but rebelled against God blatantly. Whatever Saul’s excuse, the result was sin against God and other people.

When the bright light led to Saul’s recognition of someone greater than himself near him, Jesus challenged him further. He said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” What did Jesus mean by these words? In a non-agrarian 21^st century world, people rarely use the word “goads”. Goads are cattle prods, pointed sticks, used by a farmer to make the bull do what he wants/wills, for example to pull a plow. When a bull kicks against the goads, he rebels against the will of his master. Jesus, when He said this to Saul, meant, “It is hard for you to rebel against the will of God.” God’s will shall occur and Saul’s fighting against it was futile. To fight against God’s will would only hurt Saul, just as his continued persecution of other people would hurt people.

At the point where Jesus confronted Saul about his rebellion, Saul recognized and acknowledged the speaker. He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” Jesus affirmed Saul’s understanding by saying, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” (vs 15) From the point of acknowledging and accepting Jesus as Lord, Jesus can use a person. After that, Jesus gave Saul his vision. He told Saul, “Get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen but also to the things in which I will appear to you.” (vs 16)

Saul finally conceded to listen to Jesus when His great light blinded him. He could do nothing except acknowledge the light and Him with this encounter. Earlier Saul’s focus was on being the most devout and the best Pharisee. He did not want to hear God’s voice. He refused to accept the Messiah had already come and was persecuting Him and His followers. Saul became tired of kicking against the goads, fighting against God’s divine will. He accepted his mission from Jesus to preach to the Jews and Gentiles. Jesus had promised Saul, even though the Jews and Gentiles would persecute him, He would rescue him from them. (vs 17)

What causes you to keep running from Jesus? Are you striving to be the best you can be and putting Jesus last in your life? Are you afraid for other people to know you are a Christian because you fear persecution? Or, are you just afraid to submit to anyone because you want to be your own boss? Satan loves to use fear, greed, and fame to blind people from seeing Jesus. Jesus’ light is brighter than any other. His light casts out the darkness with which Satan tries to blind you. We can only stall God’s will by kicking. Eventually, God’s will occurs.

Why do you rebel against God and His will?

Be obedient to God.

Accept His salvation and plan for your life.

Lord, please forgive me. I have sought only to advance myself with degrees, status, and money. I heard Your voice a long time ago but chose things for myself while ignoring You. The only thing I can truly do on my own is cause myself stress because of my striving after things. That for which I seek passes away when I stop pushing my agenda. It is like vapor, here one second and then gone the next. Lord, I don’t want my life to be like that. I want my life to mean something and to have a purpose. I realize the only way that can occur is by seeking You and Your will. Lord, each time I’ve striven after more, I have turned my back on You to do it. Please forgive my rebellion. Forgive me making myself my own master and not acknowledging You. Forgive my sin of fame and greed and help me find contentment in You. Lord, I am a sinner who turned away and against You. Forgive me of my sins. Make me righteous and right with You. Thank you for loving me, never forsaking me, and forgiving me of my sin. I love you, God. Amen.