May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written. - Romans 15:5-9
We all have given names, and we have our family names. Our whole family history, good or bad, is tied up in our family name. Normally when we mention our family name, people determine whether they want to befriend us or not.
The family name is something we inherit at birth. We should treat it with respect and carry it with pride and dignity, never bringing it into dispute. However, there are some who, because of the lifestyle they choose, drag their family name through the mire.
They care less that the things they do cause embarrassment and dishonor to their family. Yes, their unethical and deviant behavior, in many cases, cast aspersions upon the family.
In the text above, the apostle tells us to bring praise to God through the way that we live. He wrote this epistle to the church at Rome because, at the time, there was a rift between the Jewish and the Gentile Christians.
Similar to many of us Christians today, the Jewish Christians felt that they had a special claim on Christ. The early Jewish Christians who were not very receptive to the Gentiles coming into the new church wanted the Gentile converts to live according to the Old Covenant, which stipulated circumcision of the flesh.
Paul, however, corrects this by informing the church that in Christ, it is a circumcision of the heart, not the body. In coming to earth, Christ fulfilled the requirement of the old covenant.
The apostle is showing here that Christ died for all and that the most important thing about the faith is that Christians get along together. Instead of fighting, we should glorify God in the way we interact with one another, particularly in brotherly love.
So often we Christians spend more time fighting with one another than pointing others to Christ. We have been redeemed through the cleansing blood of Christ. Therefore, we are one.
Through the waters of baptism, we have been cleansed and brought into the family of God and are called Christians. Therefore, like the family name, we Christians have a responsibility to guard and protect it. Our Christian heritage is special. It should never be brought into dispute.
As Christians, we should refrain from infighting with other Christian brothers and sisters and, instead, spend our time pointing one another to the cross of Jesus Christ. That is what we are called to do. Our lives should be an open book for all to see and admire.
When people see us living out our Christian faith, they too should want to become Christians.
Regretfully, many times people are driven away from the faith because of the way some Christians live.
When we live contrary to the Christian faith, we bring God's name into dispute and defame the cross of Jesus Christ. The apostle implores us, "As you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
As Christians, we don't just carry an insignificant name. It is a special name, purchased for us through the blood of Jesus Christ. He was convicted as a criminal, condemned to death, crucified and died on a cruel cross and came back from the dead that we may be united with him in baptism and called sons and daughters of God. Live and act like Christians. Amen.

o Reverend Samuel M. Boodle, pastor at The Lutheran Church of Nassau, can be reached at P.O. Box N 4794, Nassau, Bahamas; or telephone 323-4107; e-mail: lutheranchurch@coralwave.com; website: www.Nassaulutheranchurch.org.

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