Let's Not Just Pretend
“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.” -Romans 12:9, NLT
“The entire section is in some respects like a brief catechism on the Christian life: Practice love for one another, honor one another, serve Christ, pray, be generous, be hospitable, live at peace with others, and avoid revenge.” – Arland J. Hultgren
“Love is doing whatever it takes to give people whatever they need. ‘Whatever it takes’ means you make sacrifices of emotion, action, and your rights. This kind of love means you give someone both the truth, (which they may not want) and the help they need.” – Tim Keller
Romans 12 is so full of wonderfully applicable concepts and commands that a whole sermon series could be taken with it and still not have exhausted it’s content. In ending our series on Connection with verses 9 through 21, I intended not to be exhaustive but practical. Often, the concept of love in Christian community is hard to get our arms around. Finding a way to give tangible expression to the command to love one another can either feel too theoretical, with no starting point or too broad, with far too many starting points. Romans 12 though gives us a solid grasp of the practicalities of loving one another well. It helps us to navigate the task. Giving us a good starting point- no pretend love. But then going beyond that to map out a journey of dos and don’ts in the task of loving each other. This is especially helpful as we live in a culture that continues to alter the definition of love and what it looks like to love someone. At the time of this writing, it seems that to love someone, is to celebrate them and their choices as long as they are pleased with themselves. The aim of Christian love though is altogether different. We are loving someone by helping them be shaped into the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29) rather than pushed into the world’s mold (Romans 12:1-2). As a result, often what the world will label hateful attacks are certainly not. We are not after the instant gratification of self-affirmation for ourselves or our brothers and sisters. We are after the long slow process of transformation under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus might use others to shape and mold us until we look like Him. What we will need though is to often remind ourselves and our brothers and sisters that pretend love (which is how our culture defines love) is unhelpful in this family. We need the genuine article. We only need look to our Savior to remember as much. Connection requires a depth of relationship that invites genuine love. An affection that moves us beyond nice and into transformation. So, let us endeavor not to just pretend to love each other. God helping us let’s be a family that loves as Romans 12 encourages. If we do, what God will bring forth is a beautiful expression of His Son’s life, the Body of Christ.
Blog Bonus:
Here are some excellent questions on Romans 12:9-21 which might help you in your application of the text- credit goes to Tim Keller and his book, Romans 8-16 For You.
· Which aspects of real love does your love for others display?
· Which aspects of real love most challenge you?
· Think of a Christian you know who is in need. How can you do for them whatever it takes today?
· Is there someone in your past or present who has done you evil? What wrong responses are you tempted to?
· What would it look like for you to overcome evil with good in that specific situation?
· Do you need to seek counseling from a wise Christian about how to deal with an issue or a wrong done to you?