Honor One Another
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:9-13
Insight
Often the difficulty we have with Scripture is not due to a lack of comprehension but rather an unwillingness to put those truths into practice, especially when it comes to dealing with difficult people. For instance, take today’s passage found in Romans. It is straightforward and easy to understand. Yet, for all of its’ simplicity, we struggle to act upon what we know.
What makes applying these commands so daunting? Why are we met with such resistance? Quite simply, the actions of love, humility, generosity, and joy run counterculture to our human flesh. When someone pushes our buttons, all we want to do is push right back. And, if we don’t react, we tend to avoid, so we don’t have to deal with that individual. Relying on our strength to accomplish loving that difficult person is pure foolishness. Faithful obedience is only possible when we rely on Christ’s heart to be reflected in us and allow the Holy Spirit to work through us.
In verse 9, the author reminds us that love must be sincere. There’s no such thing as “I can love them, but I don’t have to like them.” We must stop giving simple lip service to love. How can one say they believe in a loving God but fail to show love to those around them? What message would we be sending to a lost world if we spoke of Christ’s love yet did not exhibit the one quality that defines our faith? Love requires action (1 John 3:18).
The author continues and says, “hate what is evil and cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). Rather than rationalizing and justifying away our struggles, we must confront them. At first, urging us to hate evil and cling to what is good appears to have no connection to loving those difficult people in our world. We are left scratching our heads, wondering how confronting the sin in our own lives helps us exhibit love to those around us. It all boils down to a perspective shift.
Because we understand the depths of our forgiveness, we can love others through humility (Romans 12:10), have hope and patience amid any circumstance (Romans 12:12), and be generous with everything we’ve been given (Romans 12:13). When one believes they are loved freely by God, they find the freedom to love others, even “that guy.”
Easier said than done. It’s as if the author knew our human tendency to become distracted and lose sight of Christ’s love. So, he reminds his audience in verse 11 to “never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor.” When we become lazy in our spiritual life and disregard our integrity, we make ourselves vulnerable to letting the status quo, convenience, and our feelings direct our actions and relationships.
However, becoming sluggish in our pursuit of God has an even more damaging effect on the message we transmit to others. If we are not excited about grace and forgiveness, how can we ever expect others to embrace the cross? Imagine the difference and impact we could have if our community applied these five short verses to our everyday life. We can no longer speak about love. The time has come to answer the call to love extravagantly on Christ’s behalf.
Reflection
Look at your relationships. Where are you allowing status quo, convenience, and your feelings to guide your connections with others?
Prayer
Lord, help me to love boldly. May Your heart be reflected in both my actions and my words. Let the hope that I have in You speak volumes to the people You put in my path. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.
