NOTES for Rom 12:5-16

Nothing is more contrary to our everyday life than this text of the apostle. Unfortunately, this is true even of everyday Christian life. To accept another person as he is, to love him tenderly, to respect his uniqueness, and to recognize how much we need our differences is an almost impossible task. Paul’s words are extraordinarily simple, and for that very reason they strike us all the more forcefully. They are a kind of instruction for life that must simply be followed without argument or, as it says here, without conceit. There are obvious things that should not be clouded by reasoning about how and why to do them. They simply have to be done. Otherwise the world entrusted to us collapses. There is no use being alarmed: if you pour water on a running electric motor, you will inevitably cause a short circuit. No matter how much you speculate about the strange properties of electricity, there will still be a short circuit. It is the same in life: if you do not respect the people around you, do not abhor evil, and do not consistently carry out what Paul has written, the result is division and hatred. Returning to the instructions for living life, our task is to follow them every day. Paul also does not recommend dreaming about how good everything will be once all this has been accomplished, because this road has no end.