Once you have worked in the same profession for a long enough time, the desire to become a leader eventually arises. Did you ever look at your boss and hear yourself think: “I can do that”? Or maybe it was: “I can certainly do better than that.” How long before we get to that point and how strong that desire is, varies from person to person. But the fact is that most of us assume it is a natural, even necessary, step in our lives. But why?

Finally, the final conclusion. A good Conclusion should remind the reader of the most important points discussed. This is what Paul does now.

We are in the middle of the discussion on disputable matters in Romans 14. But, before going on, I need to come back and ask the question: Did Paul contradict the Holy Spirit there in 1 Corinthians when he told them that, since idols are nothing, there was nothing wrong with eating meat sacrificed to idols? Remember, James said in Acts that the instruction they were sending seemed “good to the Holy Spirit and to us”.

Or maybe the dinner table… Paul has been spending all this time “getting us on the same page”.  In chapter 12 and the beginning of 13 he has circled back to our lives as children of God. And, to me, what he just said there is all in the category of what we “ought to do”. This is our duty. But knowing our duty and doing it, cheerfully, are two different things. The only motivation that works is love.

It has taken Paul eleven chapters to lay a foundation on which both Jewish and Gentile Christians can stand as equal children of God. Along the way, he has reminded us that this Salvation is accessible to everyone else in the human race because it is a plan God established before the foundation of the world. This speaks of purpose.

In Chapters 9 and 10 of Romans, Paul finally dealt with what could seem a paradox to an outside observer: That the very people who had, in writing, all the story about God’s plan and the Messiah could actually choose to reject Him. This was a very personal pain for Paul. But Paul took the opportunity to preach the Gospel: to point out that bloodlines or circumstances of life do not determine our choices. We all hear the call and we are all responsible for how we respond. That allows him to bring the conversation back, full circle, to the conflict at hand: Gentile Christian versus Jewish Christian.