I want to talk about something that has recently convicted me from a message I was listening to. It’s about loving one another. No, I’m not going to be talking about dating or romantic love - I’m going to be talking about the love we need to have for other believers every single day.
Let’s look at Romans 12:9-13
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”
(First, before I get into what I want to talk about, I’d like to let you know that a lot of what I have to say is what the pastor I was listening to said - I just took notes and I’m conveying to you his points and examples.)
1. Love sincerely
“Let love be without hypocrisy.”
Before we get into what hypocrisy is, let’s talk about what love is. Love is the defining mark of a Christian. Love isn’t just “being nice,” it’s so much more than that. Love says I care about you. Love is caring about someone more than ourself. We are selfish by nature so love doesn’t come naturally to us.
Pastor Mazak, the pastor I was listening to, talked about something that has stuck with him since he heard it as a young adult while helping out at a boy’s shelter. There was a lady training the group Pastor Mazak was with and here’s something she said: “Every time you’re about to speak, ask yourself, whose needs am I meeting?” Why are you talking?
“Well, this last week I…”
Wait! Why are you talking?
“I want people to know how great my week was.”
Well that’s not love. You are trying to get people to listen to you and that’s being selfish.
Hypocrisy comes from a greek word that described the theater - to put on a mask. For example, you need to play a happy part then you wear a mask and act happy. We aren’t supposed to put on a mask and pretend we love others. We aren’t supposed to put on a mask and act like a Christian. We are commanded to be genuine. To love sincerely. “If you have sincere faith then you need to sincerely love other Christians”
2. Love that shows Discernment
“Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good”
There are certain things we need to hate as Christians. We need to hate evil and this evil age we live in. As Christians, we should hate abortion. Secondly, we need to “cling to” what is good. “Cling to” means to be glued to, to be one with, to be so incredible close. We need to be close to what is good. We need to show love that is discerning.
3. Love Affectionately
“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another” We need to show the affectionate love of family towards one another. You may say you’re not an affectionate person but God will help you be one because that’s what we’re commanded to be like. We’re supposed to be affectionate towards the people we love. Although I do have to say there are appropriate displays of love - male/female and with ages. We’re still supposed to be discerning in this area. We are commanded to love as Jesus loved. Person: “Well I love God, I just don’t love Christians.” Response: Let’s look at 1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” This passage uses some strong words to describe those that don’t love others. Like if I don’t demonstrate love, I’m not a Christian. If you’re a Christian, you’re going to have a desire to love others. Going back to Romans, it says we need to show honor towards each other, another translation of this verse (the ESV) says to “outdo one another in showing honor.” When you talk to others, they should feel like you’re honoring them. An example of this would be to listen. Be a good listener! Okay that’s a lot of information… So how do I practically apply this? - 10/5 rule - If you come within 10 feet of someone, you make eye contact, there’s an acknowledgment, you may nod your head and smile. - If you come within 5 feet of someone, there’s a verbal acknowledgment - whether it’s just hi or how are you. I know this rule might seem silly but if you apply this I think it will change how you act towards the people around you. Okay I also want to say that this message that I listened to was recorded before the COVID-19 virus happened and social distancing happened. You might be thinking, well, I guess I can’t show love like that with quarantine. You’re wrong - we can still show this kind of love towards others but it’s through different ways. It can be through writing letters, a quick message, or praying on the phone with someone. There are many ways we can still evidence love for others. More of an application: “Sincerely and affectionately love one another in good and honoring ways.” Sincerely seek the good of other believers. Display affection in appropriate ways. Honor others by approaching, engaging, and ministering to them. Let’s look at the rest of this passage…
4. Enthusiastically love
“not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord”
“Lagging” means to be lazy. So if I’m not diligently loving others, I’m being lazy. Fervent means enthusiastically. We need to be enthusiastically loving others. We need to be excited about loving others. This isn’t for our own gain but to serve the Lord. We can be enthusiastic and diligent in ministry but be self-serving or self-promoting. ——
5. Love with Patience.
“rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer” Person: “People aren’t exciting to me.” Response: Don’t rejoice in people. Rejoice in the hope that you have in Jesus Christ. That’s what the verse is saying by “rejoicing in hope.” So what about tribulation? We still need to persevere in love. We have a tendency to focus on ourselves when we go through trials. Going through a trial doesn’t give you an excuse slip from loving others.
We still need to love one another with selfless love. Continue praying steadfastly. Steadfastly means unwavering. Constantly praying. We can only achieve this kind of love through Christ. Pray. Ask God to help you show this kind of love. Ask for help to love as Christ does.
6. “distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” Lastly, we need to show generosity and hospitality. I won’t really talk about generosity but I do want to talk about hospitality. Hospitality is another word for fellowship. Hospitality isn’t just inviting people into your home. Person: “Well I went to a church fellowship but I sat down by myself and no one came up and talked to me. We really lack in showing hospitality.”
Response: You were the one who sat by yourself. It’s not about others being friendly and loving to you - it’s about you being loving to others. Reach out to others!
I hope it was encouraging for you! I also want to make it clear that I’m not preaching at any one person, I’m talking to everyone, including myself. We all struggle in this area and need to build each other up. We need to show Christ’s love. Showing Christ’s love means putting others before ourselves. Think about others. Love others.