I doubt that any word gets tossed around in our world with such frequency and flippancy as love. It’s common for us to justify selfish behavior or whitewash actions harmful to others all in the name of some weak notion of “love.” Too often our actions performed under the guise of love have nothing whatsoever to do with the reality of it.
The apostle Paul challenges all of us who follow Jesus to “let [our] love be genuine”—to let our love actually be love (Romans 12:9 RSV). And if we need to know specifics about what genuine love actually looks like, Paul is happy to provide them:
• Resist everything evil and cling to everything good (Romans 12:9).
• Try to outdo one another in showing love (Romans 12:10).
• Follow God’s way of love, and exhibit it with enthusiasm (Romans 12:11).
• Have great joy and confidence in the hope that love provides (Romans 12:12).
• Don’t fight suffering, but endure it with patience (Romans 12:12).
• Cling to the confidence that our loving God hears our prayers (Romans 12:12).
• Come to the aid of those who are in need (Romans 12:13).
• Bless those who seek your harm; don’t seek revenge (Romans 12:14,19).
• Join others in grief as well as in joy (Romans 12:15).
• Practice peace with everyone, even difficult people (Romans 12:16,18).
• Don’t think too highly of yourself (Romans 12:16).
In other words, for Paul, love wasn’t some vague, gooey, sentimental emotion. Rather, it was God’s energy in action. Love requires sacrifice. Love demands our commitment and requires that we lay down our own best interests for the well-being of others. God’s love helps us grasp the fullness of Jesus’ teaching and provides what we need to display His way of living in the world.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Mark 1:16-39
More:
Compare the list in Romans 12 with Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. What are the similarities? What’s different?
Next:
Look back over the list from Romans 12. Are there specific ways you sense the call to real, sacrificial love? How have you experienced the reality of God’s love?
corgimom on June 24, 2016 at 5:47 am
Thank you, Winn Collier, for a great devotional that clearly outlines what practical application of Christian love looks like.
Gary Shultz on June 24, 2016 at 6:28 am
Winn, I must confess this is still somewhat of a mystery to me. I understand what is described in the passages and it seems to me to be the working out of the Spirit because without it I could never sustain many of those qualities. My daughters-in-law say, I should say “I love you” more, my friends tell me to say it more. Well, I feel like the clanging cymbal when I just make that statement to appease someones feelings. I know the age old battle, men want to crank it out, the ladies want to hear it, and much of it does not even center around what we read in this study. I may be totally off base, but I think our term of love is some distance from what God had in mind. As an old grump, I figure, if you can’t see it, why say it, and if you say it you better be able to see it… This one thing I do know, I see God’s love, He has, at all costs, extended His love to us, it will never fail and is the prepayment of our place in His eternal home. I’ll keeping working on this, Thanks Winn
gagirllive on June 24, 2016 at 8:06 am
Great devo, Winn. It is high time we heed the call back to BIBLICAL love which is grounded in TRUTH. As I was reading this, my thoughts went immediately to what Chick-fil-a did in response to the tragedy in Orlando a couple of weeks ago. I think their response to open their local restaurants there on that Sunday to cook food and go out to serve that community was a PERFECT demonstration of love as highlighted in this Romans passage. Just a few years ago that company was under fire for its CEO’s stance on biblical marriage. Now fast-forward, they were the ones who quickly took the opportunity to love, serve, and bless the very community that attacked them for their faith values. They lived out every bullet point you made in your article, Winn. That’s real love in action. It’s challenging because to hate what is evil is to be called a hater, bigot, or intolerant these days. We have to demonstrate biblical love in our attitude and actions while still maintaining our hold on what God says is true. Truth and love cannot be separated, but I’m seeing Christians compromise truth in the name of love…for the sake of “keeping peace” and making everyone feel okay about themselves and their sin. That is not love. I believe our hour has come. We are “on” and now is the time for us to “let our love actually be love”—biblical love that is based on truth. Thanks for this thought-provoking piece today, Winn.
godlove on June 24, 2016 at 1:19 pm
I completely agree with your comment, gagirl. We should never compromise truth, even while showing love. We should just follow the example of our Lord and Master Jesus who always taught the truth lovingly.
gagirllive on June 24, 2016 at 1:45 pm
Amen, godlove. How we need the Spirit’s power to do this right!
jeffreywells4813 on June 24, 2016 at 8:52 am
There is a very Popular Country Song by Tim Mcgraw.. that plays four or five times a day on all the major radio networks..It sums this devotional up very well..”Always be humble and kind.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awzNHuGqoMc
Gary Shultz on June 24, 2016 at 10:25 am
Gagirl, well stated, with an eye to current events.
Tom Felten on June 24, 2016 at 11:32 am
Another challenging statement on love from Paul: “Speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church” (Ephesians 4:15). It can be can to say the “truth in love,” but devastating if we don’t. And it truly takes the Holy Spirit’s guidance and grace to be able to do this well.
gagirllive on June 24, 2016 at 11:55 am
Agreed, Tom. But I also know that speaking the truth in love can still be received as highly offensive. What scares me is that I see Christians placing a higher value on avoiding offense than on love itself. I fear that we are losing our understanding of what biblical love is. It’s not sugar-coating things so as not to offend anyone.
gagirllive on June 24, 2016 at 12:06 pm
Also, I might add that today’s article clearly reminds ME that love is a verb, not a noun. Our loving actions speak volumes. People may reject the words coming out of our mouths, but few will refuse our demonstration of it.
Tom Felten on June 24, 2016 at 2:13 pm
Agreed, gagirllive!
godlove on June 24, 2016 at 12:38 pm
As 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” I believe love is the very centrepiece of our faith and it’s what we must sincerely strive for, as the one truest sign of our faith. Winn, I really like the very practical manner in which you simply outlined the specifics of living out genuine love as Paul prescribes. Some of them may be a bit difficult for the flesh, but that’s where we’ll need to draw strength from the Spirit to live out God’s love to the fullest. And by this, we’ll follow the command given by Christ in John 13:34-45, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” Thank you for this great devotional, Winn. Blessed weekend to all.
al061016 on June 24, 2016 at 4:07 pm
A few days ago, I talked to a guy who strongly disagrees God is love. I know I am not going to win a person by winning an argument. However, I did share with him my experience of His love in my life.
After the conversation, I started to pray for this person. In my prayer, I sensed even though he has some knowledge about God, but he has never truly experienced the love of God in his life, as a heart touches by His love will be transformed immediately. However, only God can work in people’s hearts.
I pray for God to work in his heart and in everyone else who have not yet truly know Him, bring them out of the darkness into His marvelous light. I believe as soon as he sees Him. He will change his view and say, yes, God is love!!