HOPE AT THE MOVIES // Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs clip (2009)
Romans 14:1-12 (MSG) | Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.
2-4 For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ’s table, wouldn’t it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn’t eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God’s welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
5 Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.
6-9 What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.
10-12 So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I’d say it leaves you looking pretty silly — or worse. Eventually, we’re all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren’t going to improve your position there one bit.
Message Points:
- Love Being Together
- Help Those Who Don’t Know What To Do
- Invite the World
Reflection Questions:
- What kind of lesson can we learn from an ice cream sundae as to how we are to live for Jesus every day?
- What was the Apostle Paul conveying in Romans 14:1-12? What is your main take-away?
- How can we learn to love to be together, even among people with whom we disagree?
- It’s easy for us to lose patience with things that are so familiar with we cannot fathom someone else not knowing what to do. What can you do to help someone new to the faith?
- Ultimately, our extensions of faith should begin much like Jesus…with an invitation. Who can you offer and invite to experience the goodness of God at this, ‘a place of hope’?