9 Let
love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love
one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do
not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice
in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute
to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
1) Let love be
genuine. 2) Abhor what is evil; 3) hold fast to what is good. 4) Love one
another with brotherly affection. 5) Outdo one another in showing honor. 6)
Do not be slothful in zeal, 7) be fervent in spirit, 8) serve the Lord. 9)
Rejoice in hope, 10) be patient in tribulation, 11) be constant in prayer. 12) Contribute to the needs of the saints and 13) seek to show hospitality.
Paul, is wanting to encourage and remind us of who we are as
Christians.
We are to love one another and love our enemies.
We are to reflect Christ and to cling to what was good…
We are to run away from evil… and we can only do that through
the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us.
We are being reminded to be patient, to rejoice, to be
consistent in prayer and to care for one another.
Notice that the first exhortation is “love” … and that is
the exhortation I want to focus on today.
“Love” is one of the most common, yet misused and
misunderstood words in the English language; “love” is synonymous with
“romance” and often has a sexual connotation attached to it.
Even many Christians have an ambiguous grasp of the meaning
of love.
Take notice and listen to how some modern Christian songs
use the word love?
Many fall short of how the Bible defines and describes
love...
The lyrics of one song I often hear on Christian radio says:
“I love the way you love me.”
Oh, it’s a catchy little tune, however, the meaning seems to
be, “I love the warm and cozy way you treat me and make me feel so good.” [no
wonder so many believers struggle in their walk with the Lord].
Love is a subject of vital importance, but not just
because of our ideas about what love really is. but because love is a matter of
highest priority:
As 1 Corinthians 13: 13 tells us: “But now abide faith,
hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Our scripture verses today describe our sacrificial service
as a walk… in love.
We are to be demonstrating love toward the brethren…
How often do we really love other people? This verse talks
about not pretending to love others, but to really love them. But what does
real love look like?
Real love looks out for what is best for the other person.
It doesn’t just say and do what makes other people happy.
Real love stays the same. It doesn’t change based on how
someone treats us or how we feel.
When we love someone with God’s love, it doesn’t matter how
that person responds, rather what matters is how we respond.
Real love, the God kind of love isn’t always easy to live
out… It takes courage...
It takes putting aside what feels right at the moment and
responding to that person in love.
When you choose to love, it makes a difference, especially
to those who don’t know Christ.
By demonstrating love today... You never know who you might win for Christ when
you choose to love!
No comments:
Post a Comment