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Key Bible Verse: Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters (Romans 14:1). Bonus Reading: Romans 14:2-19

The "weak" [in today's Key Bible Verse] lacks assurance that his faith permits him to do certain things. He is to be accepted by the "strong" without condescension.

Once I walked into a dining room and sat with a whole tableful of Russian brothers and sisters. When the meal was over a translator joined us. One brother asked me what I thought of playing cards. I responded that the Bible had nothing to say about that, and he replied that some missionaries had been playing Pit the night before. I started to answer, but this brother launched into a 10-minute dialogue, and I couldn't get a word in edgewise. As I sat there, I felt judged and responded in my own sinful mind that he must be a "mental midget." I looked down on him, contrary to Paul's admonition.

On the other hand, the weak are told not to "condemn" meat-eaters, not to pigeon-hole other believers according to their checklists. "That man cannot be a good Christian because he______!"

Whether we are "weak" or "strong" believers, there is to be wholehearted acceptance of one another.

—R. Kent Hughes in Romans: Righteousness from Heaven

• What should we remember as we engage someone with an opinion that differs from ours?

Thought to Apply: Grant that we may not so much seek to be understood as to understand.

—THE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS

Credits: Adapted from—Tuesday: Romans: Righteousness from Heaven (Crossway, 1991)

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