This morning I was continuing my reading from Paul's letter to the Romans, and as I read the following verses was immediately reminded of something John wrote in his first letter. Here are the verses from Paul - Romans 12:9-13 NIV:
[9] "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. [10] Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. [11] Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. [12] Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. [13] Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."
And here are the verses from John - 1 John 3:16-18 NIV:
[16] "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. [17] If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."
I guess the theme of being active and using our gifts for the benefit of each other continues. The Lord Jesus gave us a new commandment - to love one another (John 13:34) and everything that relates to the Body of Christ flows from that command. Our love is meant to be real, and active and something we practice, not just talk about with good intentions. The use of and growth in our gifts, must flow out of this love for one another. Our encouragement to each other and recognition of one another's significance in the Body of Christ should flow out of this love. True love, as defined by John, and Jesus in His actions, is sacrificial to ourselves. We are called to lift each other up by laying down our lives.
These words are relatively easy to write, but far more challenging to live out. It is not so much the actual loving each other that is hard, but rather the overcoming our selfishness and worldly perspectives. Our natural proclivity is to put ourselves first and look to our own needs and wants before we look to others. We believe that if we want to get ahead in life we need to invest in ourselves, build ourselves up, and look out for number one (ourselves). What Jesus demonstrated, and John calls us to, is the exact opposite.
I am sitting here writing this and looking at my life and realizing how far I have to go before I can truly say that I am living my life in such a way that my love is real and active. I could be overwhelmed by my own selfishness and lack of real evidence in so many areas of my life, but instead I recognize that the path forward is by taking small steps. I can choose to repent (change the way I think and then the way I act) and work at doing better in the big and small ways. The Lord is patient and Loving (what a surprise) and willing to help me and encourage me over and over again. The Holy Spirit provides me the power, and love (2 Tim 1:7) and self-discipline to live my life in this way. All I need to do is choose to do so.
Lord, thank You for this encouragement today. Help me to live my life in such a way that I am loving others, just as You loved me. Help me to lay down my life that I might lift up my brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. Help me to make my love sincere, in action and truth.
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