April 30, 2020

Today’s reading  Romans 12

Romans 12:3 KJV
[3] For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

I don’t know about you, but being quarantined over the last month has exposed a chink or two in the armor of family relationships. Oh, I’m the only one who’s seen this? I should have known your quarantine is going flawless, and your family is as close and loving as ever. We’ve been looking at Romans 12 lately and seeing what Paul has to say about relationships. As always our most important relationship is our relationship with the Lord, and that has to be right before any other relationship can be what it needs to be. Now technically Paul is speaking in verse 3 about our relationship with other believers, and then about spiritual gifts at the end of the verse, but I believe God is just as concerned, if not more so, with our relationships with the believers we share an address with.
First off Paul says that there must be the grace of God involved if you are to have the right kind of relationship with your spouse, children, or parents. Paul could speak of this only through the grace of God. We are saved by grace through faith, and we must live and serve by grace through faith. Then Paul mentions humility, I’m already convicted. We must deal with others with humility. To think of ourself after an honest evaluation of ourselves. I wish I could remember the author where I saw this thought, but it applies here (and this is me paraphrasing his quote) “when we view ourselves for what we really are, or are capable of, nothing anyone can say about us or do to us is undeserved.” The problem of pride really comes from us thinking we are something that we aren’t, or thinking too highly of ourselves. And I think, like it or not men, it begins with us. We are the leaders of our homes and we have to treat our wives, children, co-workers, boss, literally everyone with humility, but as Paul says at the beginning of the verse it’s going to take God’s grace to do that.
Would you say a prayer of humility with me today? Ask God to help you have the proper view of yourself, and your relationships at home, and then ask for the wisdom to make the changes that need to be made. Our churches are only as strong as our homes, and maybe this is an opportunity for us to all strengthen our relationships at home.

Frank Newsome