<p>15:3 <i>For Christ also did not please himself</i><i>, but as it is written: The reproaches of them that reproached You fell upon me</i><i>- </i>We must receive one another, even as the Lord has received us (Rom. 15:7)- and this includes receiving him who is even weak in the faith (Rom. 14:1). We should be looking for every reason to receive and fellowship our brethren, rather than reasons not to. The essence of living this kind of life is the cross of Christ. Paul brings this out in Rom. 14:21-15:3: &ldquo;It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak&hellip;We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.&nbsp; Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me&rdquo;. The quotation is from a Psalm which refers to the crucifixion of Jesus. Yet Paul applies this to us, in our bearing with the weaknesses of our brethren and seeking not to offend them. For this is the living out of the crucifixion life in ours. This is putting meaning into words, reality into the regular action of taking bread and wine in identity with that sacrifice. Sensitively bearing with our brethren, not doing anything that weakens or offends them, but rather building them up by our patience and tolerance of their scruples and limited perceptions. This is the cross, for us. The more we realize the height of the calling, the more even like our Lord we balk at what we are really being asked to do. It is so hard not to offend others and to commit ourselves to only building them up. As hard, in barest essence, as the cross of Calvary, on a day in April, on a Friday afternoon, about 1970 years ago.</p>
<p>The love of Christ in the cross is to have a continual inspiration upon us- endless love, countless moments of re-inspiration, are to come to us daily <i>because of the cross</i>. This is how central it is to daily life. The crucifixion prophecy &quot;The reproaches of them that reproached You fell upon me&quot; is quoted in Rom. 15:3 about Christ's crucifixion; but on this basis Paul appeals to <i>us</i> to please not ourselves, but to edify our neighbour; and thus the prophecies about Christ's sufferings for us were written for <i>our </i>learning and encouragement (Rom. 15:2,4,5). This works out as being the case insofar as we are to see in His sufferings a direct, personal compulsion to <i>us</i> to respond in selfless service of others. The connection between Him there on that piece of wood and us today, struggling to live life in selfless service, is absolutely live, concrete and powerful.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>