“The Love That Comes By Faith”

Scripture: Romans 12:9-21

Jesus tells us that we are to love others as he first loved us. (John 13:34-35) But the honest truth is that this is easier said than done! Think about the way, as well as the who, that the Lord showed his love to! He loved the rich and the poor, the righteous and the sinner, men and women, Jews and Gentiles, those who hated him and those who loved him –there was no one who the Lord didn’t love! That doesn’t mean that he ignored the life that each was leading – he called everyone to account for their sins. And that is the tough part of loving others – loving the person, even while you can never love their sinful ways.

“Tough love” involves correction when you encounter life styles that are self-destructive, and that is the purest kind of love that we will ever show to anyone. Every personal encounter that Jesus had left the person better off than they were before they met the Lord. Think about Nicodemus (John 3:1-21); think about the Syrophoenician woman whose daughter was under the control of a demon (Mark 7:24-30); think about the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2-11); think about the merchants who had their tables overturned in the temple (John 2:13-22). In every instance, Jesus was teaching about the kingdom of God, and revealing just what true love was all about. And loving and accepting and failure to address the sinfulness in a person’s life is anything but a loving act.

Today’s passage is about loving the people of this earth in the same way that Jesus has loved each of us.

Read Romans 12:9-13

The list of attributes that we will read about today are, in general, intended to build up the Body of Christ. It is offered so that each Christian will consider them as a way to live; it is offered for Christian organizations to reflect on, and to use as a check list against their activities; it is offered to each individual church, as well as to the Church Universal, to test their approach to mission in the world.

The list begins with “Love must be sincere.” It must be honest - truthful, without a personal agenda. It must be pure - uncontaminated with worldly attitudes and prejudice, clear and concise. It must be genuine - true in every way, without malice. And it must never be self-aggrandizing. Sincere love is a gift that we offer to others, without ever seeking love in return.

As the list continues, the items are, without actually saying so, ways to show our love.

Detest evil and embrace goodness. At first glance, this may seem obvious, but the world will do their best to blur our understanding of both evil and goodness. It is only by Jesus’ teaching, and the Spirit’s inspiration, that we can stay focused on God’s truth in the matter.

Be devoted to others in love. I think that the Church has difficulty with this one –we generally fail at loving others with Christian passion and a zealous heart for their lives. It can’t be half-hearted; it can’t be random; it can’t be selective. “Devoted love” is all in, nothing held back, and above all, must be Christ-centered.

Put others ahead of yourself. Take the lower position, make others more important in an obvious and intentional way, show them honor and love, whether you think they deserve it or not.

Love with a Spiritual fervor. Don’t love as the world loves. I think it is Facebook that encourages the “BFF”, Best Friend Forever, relationship. But it seems that “forever” only lasts until we decide to “Unfriend” the other person! So much for Forever! Spiritual fervor, though - Spiritual zeal for another person – can never, will never, “unfriend” anyone.

Be joyful in hope (this is Christ’s hope, not the world’s), for this hope will never disappoint us (Romans 5:5)
Be patient when life seems to be headed for the pits! Give the Lord time to work in, and for, and through you.
Share with all who are in need, and do it in Christian love. (Matthew 25:34-46)
Be faithful in prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – “Be joyful always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances”. Enough said?

Christian love is all encompassing and all embracing, and we are to live in that very way.

Read Romans 12:14-16

While the first few verses were about how we show love to others, the remainder of this passage is actually more about our relationships with others, and it begins with, very likely, the most difficult of all commands – offer blessings to those who show hatred toward you, simply because of who you believe in. And quite honestly, the persecution that we experience in the USA is nothing when compared to that which Christians in other areas of the world ae going through.
But even locally, think about the Amish families who, several years ago, had their children tragically killed in a senseless act of violence. They forgave the murder, they brought food to his family, they carried Christ with them as they ministered to each other, as well as those who loved the one who did the killing. That is what being a blessing in the midst of persecution is all about.

Paul tells us that our relationships must go well past the routine – that we aren’t to just be pleased when others have a joy-filled experience, or sad when they are going through difficult times – we are to fully and intimately join them in both the rejoicing and the sorrow.
And it isn’t about offering this relationship to friends in the church – it is for the neighbor down the street who lets his dog visit your yard every evening to leave his “calling card”, or the person who never cares for their own yard, but complains about every improvement that you make to yours. That’s what the Christian life looks like - never living as the world lives, but offering Christ-like love to all.

Live in harmony. That does not mean that we are to be exactly like others – it is more like the harmony that comes in music. Every member of a choir doesn’t sing the same notes that others do, and sometimes they don’t even sing the same rhythm – but every note and every phrase is designed to complement the others, and together, they create a story of unity and beauty for all who are listening. But if we emphasize our own part over that of the rest, the music may be ruined.

The Christian relationship is about letting our differences supplement each other, rather than overwhelm them.

Read Romans 12:17-21

The Christian’s goal in life is to try to be a good neighbor to the entire world. Even though Paul writes that our actions are to match the expectations and ways of the world, I doubt that he actually intended us to accept and encourage “un”-Christian principles. As we read through the gospels, we discover that even Jesus could never make everyone happy with what he did and said! But everything that he did say and do were intended to make everyone’s life better, and that must be our goal, too. And this point is reinforced in verse 18 – “IF it is possible, as far as it depends on you…”, live the kind of life that will bring honor to the Lord. That doesn’t mean that the world will see your life as an example for theirs, but we live for the Lord regardless.

And we don’t judge the lifestyles that others live – we are to be discerning of what is right and what is not, but judgement is the Lord’s responsibility when he returns to earth. Our job is to care for the people of earth – to support them, to help them, to love them, in spite of the sin that lives in their lives. And while we usually forget about our own shortcomings, never for a moment overlook the fact that we are those sinners, too.

And Paul is very quick to point out that when we live a truly Christian life – one that feeds the hungry, cares for the sick, welcomes the stranger, visits those who are detested and set aside by society, that they will, whether they want to or not, see the Lord Jesus at work in their own lives.

It’s true that most of us can, and would probably prefer, to sling mud with the best (or worst) that the world can bring, that is not the way of Christ. We are to help those who are covered with the dust of earth, to help them find their way to cleansing and renewal by faith in Jesus Christ.

This is what “sincere love” - the love of Christ – is, not only for our lives, but as the hope of the world. It will never be easy, and we will seldom be loved in return, but then neither was Jesus.

So give it a try - what have we got to lose?