Accept one another in order to bring praise to God

Romans 15:1-7 (TNIV) -

1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.2 We should all please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”

4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,

6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

My thoughts -

This is a message that, for personal reasons, I really need right now. The biggest take away I get from it is that we really need to be building each other up. We need to be growing and also encouraging, enabling, and empowering those around and under us to grow.

Everything we do is a teaching moment and a learning moment but we must not beat each other down by what we do wrong but encourage each other to do better. We must also trust God enough to know that it will be okay. God's been doing this for a long time and our involvement in the ministry on this planet is a blink. It's not about us.

If we accept each other where we are and encourage each other to grow we raise up a new generation of church leadership and bring glory to God. If we don't we fail in our mission. That's okay. God doesn't need us. God will find another way. The church has been around for a long, long time.

There may be a paradigm shift on the horizon. We may need to change everything we've been doing. We may need to adjust to that. We may, ourselves, go away. But God will be served. The Word will be preached. Our Creator will be praised. In the meantime we need to build each other up, strengthen each other, encourage each other, and make damn sure that our ministry is not about us.

If we can empower the laity to minister rather that to be ministered to, if we can accept and then encourage and empower the next generation of leaders, then we just might make it through this. But if we don't do that there will still be the church, it just won't be us. God will always be in control.

Sorry if my exegesis is a little weird here. I'm reading a lot of my own issues into the text. Please pray for me to be able to do God's will in the coming days, weeks, months, and years no matter what it may be. I know my own will. I know what I want to be able to do. But it's not about me. Sorry if this is too cryptic, but if you read this please pray for me.