Wednesday, September 9, 2026

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. … For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For 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. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? … So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14:1-5, 7-10a, 12)

I love the way Paul explains this principle, because it makes it so easy to avoid at least half the conflicts in the church. He advises us to welcome people who hold different opinions on subjects like vegetarianism, Sabbath day observance, worship music, and the like, without passing judgment on one another or trying to force our own opinions on one another. What if they appear to us to have weaker faith than our own? Then we ought to care for them all the more, and not lead them into situations where they will develop a guilty conscience (see Romans 14:20-23).

This is a hard thing for us to accept, as we naturally feel we ought to force others to see the truth we’re so firmly convinced of ourselves. But Paul reminds us that they are God’s servants, not ours, and subject to His correction. And we can trust God to correct each one of us as we grow and mature in Christ, because “the Lord is able to make [us] stand” (Romans 14:4b).

So if we follow this principle, what will the church look like? Imagine a body of Christians holding many different opinions, but where each one tries to do what will make their neighbors comfortable and build them up, rather than themselves. Imagine a church where those who prefer organ music willingly accept the praise band, and those who prefer to see their pastor in street clothes willingly accept robes and vestments. Imagine Christians falling over themselves to be kind to one another, even when they are privately convinced that the other person’s opinion is a lot of hooey. Imagine people behaving like Christ, who “did not please Himself,” but gave Himself up even into death so that we might be forgiven and live with God forever. And now that Jesus is risen from the dead, He is able to teach us, His body, how to live in peace and love until the day He returns.

WE PRAY: Dear Lord, help me to seek out ways to love my fellow Christians and build them up, even when we disagree. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Reflection Questions:

1. What are some of the hot issues in congregations today?
2. When have you submitted to the wishes of others in order to love them and build them up?
3. How has Jesus laid aside His own wants to love you?

Today's Readings:

Isaiah 5-6
2 Corinthians 13

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