Living Out Love, Pt. 1

In Romans 12:9-21, there are about 30 direct commands for believers, depending on how you count them. About 30 commands in just these 13 verses!

Living Out Love, Pt. 1

This week's devotions are written by my friend Jessica Hermann, former director of our college ministry at Great Hills Baptist Church.

- Pastor Danny

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor."

(Romans 12:9-10)

There is a jam-packed passage in Romans 12 that I often come across in my Bible reading. In Romans 12:9-21, there are about 30 direct commands for believers, depending on how you count them. About 30 commands in just these 13 verses! Commands, or imperatives, are some of the easiest verses to identify for application in our lives, because they directly tell us what we ought to do! With so many commands in these verses, most of us typically read through the passage and move on, having not taken the time to really consider the meaning, reasoning, and results of each command given. Furthermore, reading them all at once can be overwhelming. This week, let's slow things down and look at each command separately to let each one soak into our minds, penetrate our hearts, and change our actions.

Let love be genuine.

1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. We, therefore, as His followers and children, are to love others with a love as true as His. When I think of genuine love, I think about love that is selfless and does not have secret motives for self-gain. No "fake it til you make it" here. Genuine love does not seek something in return. It gives freely and seeks the best for the other person. Genuine love is only possible when we seek to imitate Christ, as He is the perfect example of love. In fact, many of the commands that will follow point us towards how we can show genuine love to others.

Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

These are two commands that definitely go with each other. In order to hate what is evil, we must be able to identify what evil is. Evil things contradict God's character and God's Word. Evil things go against the will of God. Juxtapositionally, good things reflect and align with God's will and good things are true things. Good things glorify the Lord. In order to know what is against and what aligns with God's will and God's Word, we must go to where God has revealed these things to us: His Word! The more we know God's Word, the more easily we can discern what is evil and what is good.

On another note, I will say that I find it easy to hate the evil things that other people do. But hating what is evil includes hating my own sin. Let our hatred of evil not only be focused on the things that "those other people" do, but let us also look inward to hate our sin and hold fast then to what is good and true as we repent and pursue righteousness.

Love one another with brotherly affection.

I love the use of familial language here. The body of believers is truly a family, and we are brothers and sisters in the Lord. We all share in the grace of being adopted into the family of God. We love each other in this beautiful familial way with great respect, patience, and humility.

Outdo one another in showing honor.

Are you competitive? I know that I can be. What better way is there to live out your competitive nature than to use that to show honor to others in the best way possible? When I think of "outdoing" somebody in showing honor, I think about showing appreciation and admiration for another in the best way I can and not just in line with what they have done for me. It doesn't mean that I just match what the other person can give to me, but rather in lifting others up freely without regard for what they can give in return.

These first five commands are just the beginning! Tomorrow we will look at the next six.