Adaptability/Mutual Submission

Romans 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

This verse brings to mind my time hiking Agua. On the way up, so many of my teammates were such an encouragement to me, They didn’t leave me behind and were there for me in my time of need. At every break I had sisters and brothers next to me encouraging me and building me up telling me to keep going and being with me in fellowship. Quite contrary were my actions on the way down. I was put with one of the slower groups for the last stretch and I remember the other people kept on telling me to slow down and wait and I grew so frustrated because I knew I could make it down faster without them. But it taught me something, we, as the body of Christ, are supposed to build one another up and hold each other up. When I am weak, I have my brothers and sisters in Christ to hold me up and they have my back. I know they do. I didn’t really think much on the fact that the very same is expected of me. This verse really slapped me in the face in that. My fellow teammates should be able to rely on me and we should be one united team, without division or competition.

God desires for me to really build relationships with these people and in order to do that I have to be trustworthy. I want to be someone that my teammates can trust to be there as a sister in Christ in times of hardship. I want to be someone that they can trust I won’t climb on their faces to get where I want to go or the “spiritual growth” that I want. Of course I can only be this person when I’m seeking Christ.  I must put away my selfish desires of being first and the best and understand that it doesn’t matter when I finish the race or when I’m finally off that mountain.  But who’s with me is what’s important. Is God with me then? Because that’s what counts.

Application: I will write out a prayer for my teammates in my next devotional and be more conscious of my words, thoughts and actions towards them.