Romans 15:7 – Be Welcoming

“Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.” (Romans 15:7)

When there’s a “therefore” that starts a verse, grammar rules tell us that that one word signifies that what follows will sum up all that has come before. It will be good to unpack what that is exactly to fully grasp the beauty and relevance of this verse.

Context (Romans 15:1-7): The preceding six verses here in Romans 15 are quite something. Each of them could stand alone as a memory verse to direct our lives. They fall in a section in the New Living Translation entitled, “Living to Please Others.” That’s a loaded question and also misleading when you think about who it is we are trying to please in this life. As a people pleaser myself, I have to regularly remind myself that I exist to please God. If people are offended by that, so be it. My nature prefers when everything is harmonious.

We are told to accept each other as Jesus would. That means we need to know Jesus well enough to know how he would choose to act in a welcoming situation. Jesus wasn’t afraid to call people out on their sinfulness, but he still loved them and many times healed them. His message was to them as it would be to us. “Go, and sin no more.”

Even more beautiful is that this verse clearly states that Jesus has accepted you. You and me both! How does that make you feel in this moment to realize once again that Christ accepts you, welcomes you into his grace-filled, loving arms. Many in the Bible were touched by Jesus and accepted. Think of those who were able to worship Jesus in the flesh?

Looking again at the six verses that this verse sums up, is there one that speaks to you in this season of your life? Maybe you’re working on being more considerate or encouraging, or feeling persecuted or impatient. We’re likely to feel all of those things at some point in our lives. How wonderful that there is a verse that can speak to us in those moments.

Accepting others in the way Paul describes can be hard when we don’t agree with them. It seems the divide between beliefs these days is getting deeper than I can remember. People used to get along better. The level of respect between humans seems to be dissolving before our eyes. There was just another school shooting today to break my heart. How does being accepting work here?

When God’s laws are broken, it’s up to God to be the judge. That’s how I understand it anyway. I don’t have to like something to be welcoming. After all, if we are accepting as Jesus, we still love, we just hope that acknowledging our sinfulness can go both ways. We want our behavior, that which we can control, to be God honoring as the verse says.

“So that God will be given the glory.” That’s why we do what we do. That’s why we face the fires of life to stand firm in our faith—even when it’s hard. That’s our motivation in all areas of our lives, right? I know I’m a work in progress on being God focused 100% of the time. After all, I’m still a broken sinner.

Remembering the glory part of Paul’s declaration can help us stay focused on what God wants for us. If our actions and words please him, we are moving toward being more like Jesus. That’s the ultimate goal believers strive for. Even though we know our good works don’t get us into heaven, we still want to honor God in our actions. That includes being welcoming, perhaps in a different way.

Take some time to think about areas of your life where you can be welcoming like Jesus.

Let’s pray. Father, I need a lot of help staying focused on you so that my behavior honors you. I thank you for the opportunities you give me to interact with people of all situations, some of whom I know are against you. I do take those attacks against you personally. It grieves my heart. Help me to be welcoming like Jesus, sharing your love and redemption. You’ve sacrificed your life for all. I am forever grateful. Guide my steps, and may I be ready to follow. In Jesus’ name. Amen.