TerryLema

Many think that diversity is something new, but diversity has been around for a long time. F. F. Bruce in his commentary on Romans 12 says: “Diversity, not uniformity, is the mark of God’s handiwork. It is so in nature; it is so in grace, too, and nowhere more so than in the Christian community.”  (The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Williams B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI)

God has brought together in the Church a diverse bunch, people from every conceivable ethnic group, possessing different heritages, parentages, traditions. All are brought together into one Body, the Body of Christ, and endowed with a variety of gifts, to be used for the good of all. Romans 12:6 begins: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.”

Too often we want everyone to be the same, think the same, act the same. What would this world be like if everything was the same? Every flower the same shape and color. Every tree exactly like all the rest. Every mountain like its neighbor. Every person alike. I can think of only one word to describe such a scenario – BORING! 

God instead gave us color and variety, different seasons, different climates, different terrains. He made us all unique; no two people the same. We look different. We think differently. We act differently. Our personalities are different. We are diverse, and in the church this diversity works for the benefit of God’s Kingdom. The church would be very boring if we were all the same.

And just as we have received a measure of faith from God so that no one can boast, so we receive different gifts from God, according to the grace given us. Different gifts that are used in a variety of different ways. Different gifts used by unique people in the Kingdom of God, all for the benefit of the Kingdom.

Today is the 107^th anniversary of my mother’s birth. My mother did not have an easy life. She was a child when the great depression began, the youngest of three children. She suffered from mental and emotional instabilities all her life. Her father was an atheist until he accepted Jesus on his deathbed.

My father became extremely protective of her in their later years. He would act as a buffer, standing in the gap between her and the “world.” Although not an easy task, he acted as a mediator between her and the “world,” and between the “world” and her.

I saw in their relationship an example of Christ Jesus who “stood in the gap.” That phrase originates in Ezekiel 22:30 where God searches for someone to intercede for His people Israel to prevent judgment.

He didn’t find anyone. Not until Jesus. Jesus came as the Mediator – the Only Mediator – between God and man. He stands in the gap for us.

He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. His death and resurrection alone provide the way for us to come to God – the gap between our Father and us has been bridged. Now we have a constant supply of the mercy and grace we need. Now we have the indwelling spirit to lead, guide and teach us. WE ARE SO BLESSED!

“There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.” [1Timothy 2:5 NLT]

Over the course of our almost 59 years together, we have lived in 24 different homes. We have always had helpers when moving from one place to another. Mostly it was family members and friends. I remember one time when they had to move my home organ and piano, a friend suggested that I take up the guitar instead!

Romans 12:3 reminds us that everything we have was given to us by God, even the very faith with which we believe, and because of that we should think soberly about ourselves. Now from that seedbed of faith will spring a bountiful harvest of gifts which Paul will outline in Romans 12:6-8, but before he does, he says a very important fact, we need each other!

Rom 12:4-6: “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” [NLT]

We belong to each other in this Body of Christ, and each of us needs all the others. This is a lovely transition from receiving the measure of faith from God in verse 3, to using the gifts outlined in verses 6-8. We are not the same, Hallelujah!  We do not all function the same, Glory!  Yet we fit together perfectly in Christ’s body, each with our own special function, each with a different work to do, and we belong to each other and need each other. “Each of us needs all the others.”

We needed the members of our family each time we moved. They always joked about not showing up IF we ever decide to move again, this time was always the LAST TIME! But Bob and I know better. IF the time ever comes again, they’ll be there for us. And we’ll be there for them. In this family, “each of us needs all the others.” In the Body of Christ, “each of us needs all the others” too!

I will be darting in and out of Romans 12 over the next few weeks, but in the meantime … I love sports, all kinds of sports, which is odd because my mother hated sports and my dad was simply a baseball fan.

The 2026 Winter Olympics recently concluded. I watched much of it, and much of it left me fuming.

I love these young athletes who have trained and worked hard and dreamed about competing in an international event that only happens every four years. They come in filled with hope. Sometimes their hopes are realized and sometimes they are dashed.

When they don’t live up to the expectations others have placed on their shoulders, they are often hounded by reporters and the keyboard courageous. That happened often during these past winter games. (I wish these athletes would say to these rude and obnoxious people “Here’s my (skates, skis, snowboard, whatever), show me how it’s done.”

When did we become such unkind people, so lacking in compassion and good manners?  Too often I am ashamed of our culture’s behavior. I pray for God’s forgiveness for this nation.

Let those who name the Name of Christ embrace a far different set of standards.

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” [Colossians 3:12 NLT]

Amen

In Romans 12, we are abiding in full view of God’s mercy and offering our bodies as living sacrifices. We are seeking to no longer be conformed to the pattern of the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

When all that comes together, Paul says in verse 2: “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

When we do the things mentioned in verses 1 and 2, then, THEN, we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is. There is absolutely no way to know the will of God through earthly means. It is only by God’s Spirit that the will of God can be known.

If you read the first two chapters of 1 Corinthians, (beginning especially in 1:18: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.”) you will see that the Will of God makes no sense to the world.  How could the death of a Jewish preacher on a Roman cross be salvation for the entire world? It makes no sense when viewed from the world’s perspective.

Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians “but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God . . ..  No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God that we may understand what God has freely given us . . .. because they are spiritually discerned.”  [2:9-16]

The will of God can only be discerned spiritually. There is no way to logically sit down and do the pros and cons to discern God’s will for our lives. We can’t guess, we can’t take a poll, we can’t throw darts at a chart. Only by allowing the Spirit of God within us to reveal God’s will to us, will we be able to know what God has prepared for those who love him!

I am back to resting in Romans 12 this morning where we find the warmth of God’s mercy. We live every aspect of our lives as a spiritual act of worship, offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing unto Him. Sound easy? Not in the slightest. Sacrifice is never easy, that’s why it’s called sacrifice!

The Way to sacrifice begins in verse 2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” 

The will of God winds through Romans 12, and it begins with the abandoning of the pattern of this world and becoming transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The world’s pattern is contrary to God. That is readily apparent from the words and life of Christ. The world’s pattern is engrained in us from early on, however. What must happen to know God’s will is to truly abandon the pattern of the world. The only way to do this is to have our minds renewed.

Jesus promised that He would send the Holy Spirit who would lead us, guide us, and teach us the ways of God. Our part is to take God’s Word and allow the Spirit to work it out in us. When God’s Word enters our mind, it conflicts with the pattern of the world that has been set there. The Spirit comes to point out this conflict, and to strengthen us and guide us to abandon the former ways and embrace God’s will as it is set out in the Word. It happens every time you read or hear a passage that quickens your soul.

By cooperating with God’s spirit and allowing Him His work, our minds our renewed and we are transformed.

I had opportunity once again to pray with others. It’s a weekly blessing. I love prayer – I didn’t always.

In the beginning of my Christian walk, I thought prayer to be difficult. I remember listening to a comedian decades ago. He said we often think we need to pray in King James English, that our prayer language should resound with thee’s, thine’s, thou’s and art’s. We think that UNTIL we get in real trouble, then it is running, sliding on our knees to the altar all the while shouting “HELP GOD!” at the top of our lungs.

I also thought when I prayed that I needed to say all the right words and make sure I covered every contingency and alternative. I was sure that if I missed anything, God would not know what to do or how to answer. I was wrong. I was the one who did not know what to do or even what to ask for – God was (and always is) way ahead of me!

Romans 8:26 reminds us that “the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” [NLT]

I have an imaginary view of that verse. I pray as I think I should and somewhere between me and the Father, the Holy Spirit rewrites my prayer (with groanings) so that it matches the Will of God.

Before I went to bed last night I listened to my playlist as I always do. As I sat quietly my soul rested in the second verse of “The Goodness of God.” [Bethel Music, Jenn Johnson]

“I love Your voice. You have led me through the fire. In darkest night You are close like no other. I’ve known You as a Father. I’ve known You as a Friend. Oh, I have lived in the goodness of God.”

This is one of my favorite songs and always ministers to my soul. I assumed I would sleep well. Instead, my mind would not be quiet. Around 3:30 AM I began to repeat … “how can it be ….” I could not remember where that phrase came from until finally, I realized it was a phrase from the song “Amazing Love.” [Billy James Foote]

“Amazing love, How can it be? That You, my King would die for me? Amazing love, I know it’s true. It’s my joy to honor You, In all I do, I honor You.”

Isaiah 53:5: “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” [NLT]

What Amazing Love! That the King of Glory would die for such a one as I. In all I do, I strive to honor You. Amen