ONE VOICE – ONE ATTITUDE

Day Two of Seven Devotionals for International Women’s Day 2025

By Lucy Christy Varghese, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Theme: 

As God gives us endurance, he can also give us a good attitude towards one another in order to accept one another. 

Romans 15:5-7

5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

1. Endurance 

This passage talks about having the same attitude of mind towards each other that Christ Jesus had. I recall that I once heard that an unbeliever read the story of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. As he pondered on it, he came up with the following expression: "There is a Man who not only suffered, but who knew how to use His suffering." 

“Hypomonē”(https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5281/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/) is the Greek word used to describe the quality of endurance, particularly in the face of trials which are connected to patience. The word “hypomonē” here indicates that endurance should be active, not passive. It calls to mind an image of someone who is under a terrific load, and it indicates that as you are bearing that terrific load, you must exercise your energy in a way so as to win people for Christ, in other words, in such a way so that others see Christ in the way you are enduring. Your endurance is an active witness for Christ. There should be no passive endurance in the Christian life. 

As I understand it, endurance is the ability to continue doing something painful or difficult for a long period of time without complaining.

I would like to share with you about my first pregnancy in 2003. From day one of testing positive for pregnancy, I had severe vomiting, a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum. My primary nourishment became lime soda. I was hospitalised several times due to dehydration and urinary tract infections. Generally, this condition subsides after three months and I thought I would get relief from this, but it continued during my whole pregnancy. At the seventh month I started vomiting blood.  I had to undergo an endoscopy at that time which felt unbearable for me. After they found out I had a slight tear in the esophagus I was advised to use a backrest for sleeping from that point onwards. Overall, I lost seven kilograms (about fifteen and a half pounds) during pregnancy and also underwent a c-section when I reached full term. Even though it was a very challenging situation with my health, one thing that helped me to endure all this pain and these struggles was the thought of seeing and holding the baby whose movements I could see during the ultrasound tests.

This endurance brought me and the child together and there was much joy.

Now let me take your attention back to the second theme of this passage: 

1. A good attitude towards each other, to accept one another

The Roman church was a diverse community. It was made up of Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free people, rich and poor, strong and weak in faith. So they had difficulty accepting one another.

Now, how did Christ receive you? Were you absolutely the ideal, perfect person? Did He say, "Go out and clean up your act and then I will accept you?" No, He received us with all our imperfections. Isn't it amazing how horrible sins look when someone else is committing them? How blind we are to our own faults.

I appreciate God's patience with me. I am thankful for that. However, I am not so patient with Him. I appreciate other people's patience with me, but I am not always so patient with them. The Scriptures say, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). As God is the God of endurance and consolation, so are we to be for each other. We are to be comforting and patient with one another.

It is all a matter of love. If I would love you as I love myself, then I wouldn’t be seeing and picking at all the little flaws in you. I would receive you even as Christ has received me. Sometimes we say, “Conform to my standards, live as I want you to, and then I will accept you as my friend and my associate.” But that is not how we are to receive each other. We are to receive each other even with our differences. And that love that we have in Christ should be greater than any differences between us; it should be the unifying power within the body of Christ.

In the book of Romans, Paul urged people to live in harmony and avoid pride. He emphasized the importance of associating with people of all social positions, including those of low status, and warned against using relationships for selfish gain. Drawing from Jesus' teachings, Paul advocated treating everyone with respect, regardless of race, disability, age, gender, or social class, and stressed that no one should ever be seen as inferior.

I want to share a real story of endurance of my brother-in-law Pradeep, a member of the Border Security Force Personnel. His team serves on the Line Of Control border, named Kupuwara district, with a geographical area of 2300 kilometers. Within this district is an area which is 100% very high alert, meaning that they are constantly vulnerable to an attack from the neighboring country. The temperature here is minus ten to minus fifteen degrees Celsius (between fourteen degrees Farenheit down to five degrees Farenheit) with snowfall during several months. From August they start loading food and other provisions up to the border post which is 1500 meters above sea level. Before they climb to the camp they have to undergo a medical check-up in the base camp for six days. Only if they are medically fit they can go up to that post, as the oxygen level is very low on top, and every day they are given a tablet to help them adjust to the altitude.

Once you reach the border post in October, you can come down only in April or May. Traveling from one post to a neighboring post takes one week. They walk throughout the night fully equipped, and sleep and rest during the day. Their boots cost around 1.5 lakh rupees (150,000 rupees or about $1700 USD) to protect their feet from frostbite. They wear bulletproof jackets and carry 100 bullets, two grenades, a rifle and a walkie-talkie set. 

They travel with a donkey, which carries other things like their bed, their food, etc. They can't carry water along with them because of the low temperature. Ice must be melted for drinking water. Their food is only tinned and canned meat, dried fish, dried fruit, vegetables and chocolates. They use a kerosene stove to heat up the tinned food. They fire 30 to 60 rounds of ammunition through the nights to let the enemy know that they are present and on alert.

 They have no connection with their families for six months as their communication is only via satellite phones. They can't use mobile phones. 

 Because of his sacrifice and of his several friends, we can live in peace in this country. My brother-in-law was saying, “if we start thinking about our family and kids or parents, we cannot work on that terrain.” The commanders have to keep encouraging the jawans (the local term for these types of soldiers in India) so that they don't get discouraged. 

Pradeep is using his suffering to protect India and to help us to live in harmony with another country. Jesus died for us. He endured and suffered so that today we can live in peace and harmony,

How are we setting an example in enduring hardships and having a good attitude in relationships today?

Let us learn to follow in Jesus' footsteps with one voice and one attitude.

For further reflection:

Let’s consider in what ways we've endured to bring unity and peace to our relationships with others. Do you welcome conversation with people who, in your estimation, are unattractive, non-prestigious people?

Are you willing to befriend newcomers and people you perceive to have a lower status than you? Or do you relate only to those who will help you get ahead?

Let’s pray this week for the attitude of acceptance in relationships where that is difficult for us.

Author bio:
Lucy C. Varghese is a women’s ministry leader serving a sector in the church in Bangalore with her husband, Evangelist Christy Varghese. Lucy was a government nurse by profession until she joined the full-time ministry in 2000. She loves to travel. Her passion is hospitality. She enjoys baking and learning different types of crafts. Recently she has been doing resin artwork.

Lucy and Christy have two sons in college, Jonathan and Joshua.