not lagging in diligence, fervent in
spirit, serving the Lord; -Romans 12:11
Today our study of Romans 12:9-21 takes
us to verse 11. As you can see, this verse is not even an
independent sentence- it is a continuation of last week's passage on
brotherly love. We saw in verse 10 the description of how God
desires us to love our spiritual siblings: “Be kindly affectionate
to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one
another.” Verse 11 further qualifies that love and also speaks to
our general life habits and attitudes.
-Not lagging in diligence:
I'm sure everybody reading this today knows what it's like to have a
pile of homework. Have you noticed there's a direct relationship
between the amount of effort you put into homework and the amount
that gets completed? What happens if homework is at the bottom of
your priority list, down below shovelling the driveway and taking out
the trash? From my experience, at least, it simply doesn't get done.
“Diligence” speaks of a dedicated focus on the task at hand.
The more time and determination you put into your homework, the
faster it'll get done and the better job you'll do.
The same is
applicable to your spiritual life. Take, for example, our previous
subject of loving our brothers and sisters. We've all met people to
whom we find it challenging to show a genuine love. It takes a
consistent diligence to love those people, as well as genuine desire
to show God's love. If you're halfheartedly attempting to let God's
love flow through you, you may as well not even try at all. When we
allow our self-centred and judgemental human nature to dictate our
attitudes toward others, that love will not be possible. Diligence
is required to overcome ourselves and allow God's work to be done.
Many other aspects of our faith require this diligence as well, for
we are all sinful humans and God's working in us is most powerful
when we are willing to work with Him.
-Fervent
in spirit: Do you know anybody
who's fervent about
something in particular? Perhaps you know someone who's a fervent
fan of some particular sports team, or a fervent supporter of a
social or political cause. A simple definition is “having a
passionate intensity.” Here Paul speaks of being “fervent in
spirit.” In the context, this encourages our concern for others
and desire to do God's will among our spiritual family to be genuine,
deep-rooted, and enthusiastic. Those fervent sports fans don't give
up on their teams during a rough season, do they? The truly
passionate ones will be out there chanting and waving the team flag
even in the middle of a losing streak. Even so, we ought to be
supporting our brothers and sisters through the tough times in their
lives. We all have seasons of frustration, opposition, and despair;
God designed families to stick together and build each other up in
good times and bad. When circumstances mount against you or those
around you, remain fervent and never be afraid to wear the team
colours.
-Serving
the Lord: Always remember that
anything you do for a brother or sister in Christ, you are doing for
Christ Himself. When we serve one another, we truly are serving the
Lord. One of many ways in which this is true is that our ministry to
one another is a testimony to the unsaved around us. When they see
the way we treat each other, the way we come to each other's aid in
time of need, the way we are genuinely concerned for one another's
spiritual welfare, that is when they know that there is more to our
faith than lip service. The world is always watching, friends, and
if we cannot maintain an attitude of pure, Godly love toward those
within our Christian fellowship, how can we proclaim the Gospel of
our loving Saviour to those outside that fellowship? Remember as
well that this love is not limited to those who are our spiritual
relatives. Recall Jesus' words in Matthew 25:40: “Truly I say to
you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine,
even the least of
them, you did it to Me.” We
ought to show God's love to all those around us, meeting needs as our
Father directs us and being careful to display the fruit of the
spirit in every aspect of our lives.
Sound
like a lot of work? I sure hope so- because it is! We're just in
the first few verses of this section of Romans, and already we're
seeing how overwhelmingly high the standard is set for us. This task
would be impossible if not for the mighty God whom we serve. He is
more than able to help us overcome any obstacle, be it external or
internal. Apply yourself diligently to His work, and the reward will
be great- both now and for eternity.
Blessings,
-Jeremy
