Romans 12:9-21
When reading today's passage, my mind instantly thought of sibling love. I don't know if I can speak for all of us who have siblings, but at least for me, even though they drive me crazy at times, deep down I love them. If you are not aware, I am the youngest of 6 kids, don't worry, you read that correctly. When it came to issues, we could probably spend a couple of days listing out everything we fought over, disagreed about, or just didn't like about someone in the moment. However, deep down, I love each and every single one of my siblings. We all have different personalities and even thought processes, but the same can be said outside of families. Picture this: your best friend, even your spouse, has their own personality and thought process. At times, we are going to find things annoying and get upset with others (it's part of life). However, we see today what real love looks like in the Bible. Romans 12: 9-13 tells us
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
This all sounds super easy, right? But it doesn't end there. Paul goes on to say verse 14- 16
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.
Now that makes it a little harder; we need to bless those who persecute us. Once again, being the youngest of 6, I was the one who got picked on. I felt as if I was being teamed up on, in all honesty, it was probably the case, but I didn't allow it to affect the way I loved them. The same thing is true about the world; as believers, we will face persecution. We are called believers to bless those who are against us. Let us model Real Love, let us love as Jesus does! Now the world thinks that real love does not call out sin, but as believers, we know that Jesus loved those who were pushed aside by the religious leaders and then called them to repent. We first must love the person, then we can help lead them to a life of repentance; that is what real love looks like!
When reading today's passage, my mind instantly thought of sibling love. I don't know if I can speak for all of us who have siblings, but at least for me, even though they drive me crazy at times, deep down I love them. If you are not aware, I am the youngest of 6 kids, don't worry, you read that correctly. When it came to issues, we could probably spend a couple of days listing out everything we fought over, disagreed about, or just didn't like about someone in the moment. However, deep down, I love each and every single one of my siblings. We all have different personalities and even thought processes, but the same can be said outside of families. Picture this: your best friend, even your spouse, has their own personality and thought process. At times, we are going to find things annoying and get upset with others (it's part of life). However, we see today what real love looks like in the Bible. Romans 12: 9-13 tells us
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
This all sounds super easy, right? But it doesn't end there. Paul goes on to say verse 14- 16
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.
Now that makes it a little harder; we need to bless those who persecute us. Once again, being the youngest of 6, I was the one who got picked on. I felt as if I was being teamed up on, in all honesty, it was probably the case, but I didn't allow it to affect the way I loved them. The same thing is true about the world; as believers, we will face persecution. We are called believers to bless those who are against us. Let us model Real Love, let us love as Jesus does! Now the world thinks that real love does not call out sin, but as believers, we know that Jesus loved those who were pushed aside by the religious leaders and then called them to repent. We first must love the person, then we can help lead them to a life of repentance; that is what real love looks like!
Posted in Devotional