“For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” – Romans 14:7-8 (ESV)
Life and death are serious matters. What we believe while living now has a profound impact on what will happens after we die. For whom do we live? For ourselves or for others or for our desires? We’re told to reward ourselves, to focus on improving ourselves, and learning how to love ourselves first. Many may follow that but it is not the focus God has or wants us to have. God promises individual accountability to Him in every area and experience of our life—this is paramount. Each Christian person in both life and death is known and seen by the Lord. Christians are saved by grace through faith and spiritually we are accountable to the Lord first. The focus of life is never to be oneself—everything we do should be done to please our sovereign Lord. Paul, in writing to Roman believers, addresses the conflicts of one’s conscience. Some were exercising liberty while others observed certain limitations. A stronger believer may have freedom for some activities while the weaker believer abided by rules of conscience that restricted their activity. Whatever, we decide based on what we know pleases God.
197
Esengo Mingi 