Each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

Romans 14:1-12, 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. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 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? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

There should be no doubt at this time in our country’s history that we are engaged in an epic war, not against flesh and blood, but against “cosmic powers over this present darkness,” with an enemy that desires to consume us as a roaring lion consumes flesh. Too many times we focus on the opinions of others, judging them by standards that we are comfortable in keeping. Jesus warns that one ought to avoid being a hypocrite by taking the log out of our own eye before attempting eye surgery on a brother. And worst of all this distraction keeps us from the real battle, where our enemy who “prowls like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” We have the truth, and we know that when we resist the enemy he will flee! Am I welcoming to those whom I consider weak in some area, considering that I too have my own failings and weaknesses? Am I trusting in myself, or in the one who is upholding me even now, able to make me stand and able to cover me with His armor that I may go forth with the sword of the Spirit to engage the enemy?

We thank You that You have given us Your authority over the spirits, yet we rejoice only that our names are written in heaven!

ESV Lectionary