Have you ever had one of those moments when something you’ve read or seen or thought you learned suddenly crystalizes for you? A moment that just clicks?
I had one today and it involved this passage from Romans:
One person decides in favor of one day over another, while another person decides that all days are the same. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind: The one who observes a special day, observes it to honor the Lord. The one who eats, eats to honor the Lord, since he gives thanks to God. And the one who does not eat, refrains from eating to honor the Lord; yet he, too, gives thanks to God.(Rom 14:5-6)
What came out of this is something I knew intellectually, but for some reason today it just all came together. When I read “And the one who does not eat, refrains from eating to honor the Lord”, I used to read the last part as someone who does not eat is refraining from honoring the Lord. A little weird but the rest of Romans 14 goes on to explain that aside from the essentials of belief on Jesus, all the rest holds a certain amount of liberty. You can worship any day you want, you can have feasts, holy days whatever.
Today, however I saw this passage slightly differently. Instead of not eating meaning one is refraining from honoring the Lord, I read it that the motivation behind the activity is what is important. The motivation behind the one who has a feast is to honor the Lord. However, the motivation of the one who doesn’t eat is also to honor the Lord. It is the motivation that counts. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a Catholic. I have a lot of discomfort with some of the stuff they do. I know intellectually that most of it doesn’t matter but now I think I see it a bit better. I do not have “Holy Days of Obligation” as they do but we both do these things (or not in my case) out of the same desire to bring honor to God. If I don’t read it in the Bible, then to me, I must not do it. Not to the extent of say the Calvinists but I don’t believe in transubstantiation. I don’t believe there are days in which I am somehow obligated to gather at an approved church building. I am even bothered (more amused really) that even though the Bible says not to build fancy altars out of cut stones and don’t raise them on a dias, every single denomination does exactly that (though some are made of wood.).
With that realization, I can not unlock the remainder of Romans 14 in a way that is more than intellectual understanding. I know there are those that think because I don’t involve myself with long tradition and man made ritual, I am somehow lesser. They are just as wrong as I am in getting worked up about those who do.
As for the faith you do have, have it as your own conviction before God. How blessed is the person who has no reason to condemn himself because of what he approves! But the person who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not act in faith; and anything that is not done in faith is sin.(Rom 14:22-23)
The simple message then comes from two ideas. Do everything you do for the glory of God. Everything. Also, there is a quote attributed to Constantine that fits very well here and we would all (of every denomination) do well to remember.
In the essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, agape.
Addendum: I am not, by any means, advocating universalism here. To do so means that Jesus wasted His time on the cross. I do believe that there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus. What I am saying is that just because someone says they are Baptist and another Catholic does not mean one is absolutely wrong and the other absolutely right. So long as they hold to the essentials (you can find that in Romans as well [hint: chapter 10]). This was a truth told me by a former boss of mine. If I forget everything else, I’ll remember what she said then.
We (she and my coworkers) were having a heated theological discussion. At the end, she had one very wise thing to say. I’ll paraphrase because I don’t remember the exact words:
“It doesn’t matter, so long as we believe in Jesus.”