The second half of Romans 12 is full of great guidance from the Apostle Paul. He rattles off one directive after another for thirteen verses. If we were to live only by the guidance in these verses, we would be declared saints. There would be no one like us in our community.
He starts of by saying our love must be genuine. Though that may sound simple, it is not. Just take a moment and think about it. How many people do you know that fake loving others? We all know at least someone, even if we do not know them well. Our love cannot be fake.
Paul continues by saying we are to hate evil. Again, it sounds simple. But do we hate the evil of our favorite sins? If we don’t, we are not fully hating evil. For every sin, every vengeful act, every hateful retort, every malicious thought are evil. We cannot simply view evil as being equal to criminal.
We are to hold on to what is good. Jesus tells us that no one is good except God. Holding on to God is exactly what we should do. Paul also tells us outdo one another in honoring one another. How do we honor? It is not just saying good things about one another. It includes deferring to the others, putting others ahead of us, and serving others with humility. We cannot honor someone else if we think we are better than them.
This is just the beginning of the list Paul gives us. Tomorrow, we will continue our walk through the list.
I pray we all choose to love one another genuinely. I pray we hate evil, especially the evil we fall prey to. I pray each one of us will hold on to good and honor one another with humility. Love one another genuinely. Hate what is evil. Hold on to good. Show honor to one another.
Romans 12:9-10 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.
Marty Pressey 