Genuine Love
Romans 12: 9 -12 (NIV)
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Over the course of this week, we will be spending time in these few verses in Romans Chapter 12. Paul, in the previous 11 chapters of the book of Romans has been teaching about the doctrine of salvation through faith in Jesus. In Romans 12 we see Paul move into a practical application of how we as Christians are to live in the light of that truth.
Verse 9 starts off with ‘Love must be sincere’ or as the NLT puts it ‘Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.’ What a challenge! Really loving others isn’t easy; people are hard work! It requires vulnerability and sacrifice, things which we often want to protect ourselves from.
However, a church cannot be healthy and thriving if we do not genuinely love people and allow ourselves to be genuinely loved in return. It’s only when we get alongside each other that we learn to really love. This year I have had the privilege of serving as part of the student pastoral team and I have loved journeying alongside our student community. It's been so great seeing our students grow and develop in three characteristics which mark a thriving Christian community:
Genuine love for God
Genuine love for each other (in our community)
Genuine love for others (outside our community)
These three characteristics enable us as a community of Jesus to effect radical change and transform the towns and cities that God has placed us in. Get alongside others and really love them!
Prayer — Father, thank you for the city and church community that you have placed me in. Holy Spirit, come and fill me today and help me really love others through my words and my actions. Help me to love genuinely.