This
morning, while looking up verses on prayer, I stumbled upon an
incredible passage in Romans. The book of Romans is known as a very
foundational, logical, doctrinal book, and I know from experience
that there is a wealth of spiritual wisdom in its pages. I've read
the book through at least once before, but the section in question,
Romans 12:9-21, suddenly struck me as a crystal clear, surprisingly
challenging manual for Christian living. I like it so much that I
typed it all out for you:
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.
Bless those
who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who
rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward
one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with
the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
Repay no
one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all
men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably
with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give
place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will
repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is
hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so
you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
Do not be
overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Now, I've
challenged myself to take this passage apart bit by bit and take a
deeper look into each of the mandates presented here by the Apostle
Paul. I've also decided that as I make this journey of studying
God's Word and inspecting my own heart, I'm going to share my
learning process with you here on TDDM. I believe each and every
last verse in the Bible is significant, and that God chooses to
reveal the depth of certain texts to us at various times in our
lives. I trust that our Father will guide your heart and mine to
glean much truth from this short section of Romans, and that it will
not just be a collection of pleasant thoughts and ideals, but that we
will walk away from this study with a far deeper grasp of how the
Lord desires us to live in this world.
Today we
will take a brief look at the very first sentence. It's short and to
the point: “Let love be without hypocrisy.” A pure translation
of the original Greek says only “Love without hypocrisy.” Now,
what might love with
hypocrisy look like? Perhaps it's loving somebody who gets you gifts
or attention. Perhaps it's loving when you're in a good mood or when
a person treats you right. Perhaps it's loving until things get
tough and your patience is tried or your reputation is at risk. If
I, as your friend, desert you when you begin to face pressure or
opposition, that's love with hypocrisy. What the Author of love is
telling us through Paul (who knew a lot about opposition and false
friends) is that love must be the complete inverse of selfishness.
Love is about letting God's heart for His children, and for all
mankind, flow through us whether we gain anything from it or not. We
are called to selflessly love our brothers and sisters in Christ, as
well as reaching out in love to those who are floundering in a dark
world, from the struggling teenaged boy asking heartfelt questions
about Christ to the hardened old man who thinks Jesus is nothing more
than a swearword.
Some
people are easier to love than others; there is no question about
that. However, we are called before a watching world to love without
partiality and without any regard for our own gain. Keep in mind
that this isn't just a matter of making it look like we are always
loving and selfless: look at Jesus' warning to the Pharisees in
Matthew 23:27-28. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful
outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all
uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but
inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Our Lord knows
our hearts, and only through Him are we able to be full of love which
flows out to all, without partiality, illuminating a hopeless society
with the light of God's unending and undeserved grace.
Do
you want to be like Christ? Do you dream of having a life that
points in its entirety to God's working in you? Love without
hypocrisy. I challenge you, as I am challenging myself, to identify
those in your social circles towards whom it is very difficult to
show love. You might be good at faking it, but fake love is
hypocritical love. Don't just force yourself to be nice; ask God to
give you a heart that can love even the most unlovable. That's the
kind of heart He will use to pull a stranded soul into His kingdom.
That's the heart of Christ.
Your
brother in the faith,
-Jeremy
-Written November 20, 2011-
No comments:
Post a Comment