Romans 12:10
Love is not only
essential to obtaining peace upon this earth; love is also vital in adhering to
the will of God… The word of God tells us that we were given a New Commandment
regarding love in the gospel of John through the very mouth of Jesus Christ; in
this gospel we find these words recorded, “A
new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love
one another.” Notice that Jesus says you
MUST love one another; loving is not optional
or something that we can turn on and off in the body of Christ… When we love we
are not just showing kindness to one another; the love spoken of in that
portion of scripture speaks to the fact that we are actually put God on display
in our very lives as we are told in the bible that God is love… This kind of love goes beyond a relationship
and can even be seen in how we deal with our adversaries… The love you have for
someone must be universal to everyone and not just people who show that love
back to you; Christ showed this love in coming to the earth for a people who
didn’t accept and rejected Him; remember that the word reminds in that while we were yet sinners Christ died
for us… He didn’t die because
of the love you showed Him, but because of the unconditional love that He had
for you… This is the principle we must live by, this love is what governs our
ability to adhere to God’s command and live out His will… This is the very
reason why Paul pens this verse to the Church of Rome and says, be kindly affectioned one to another with
brotherly love; in honour preferring one another. One of the biggest indications of our love for
God is manifested in how we love our fellow man… The bible reminds us that God
is love; so we showcase if God lives inside of us by the acts of love that we
display… Make no mistake about it; one of the biggest areas that we are tested
the most is in our dealings with others… God takes love to another dimension
and asks that we do the same; you must have a love that will put others first
no matter what the outcome may be in your life… Christ endured the pain,
beatings and the cross because of a love for a man whom had never loved Him…
You have to keep showing love to those who reject you, those who despitefully
use you and those who don’t love you… This passage redefines love as we know it today… I can speak for myself and tell you that
there have been many times that people have irked my nerves or even had me
contemplating words that should not be uttered from one’s mouth; however, in
your Christian walk your relationship with others shows your maturity in
Christ… This is not to be taken as though you are to let people walk over you,
but that you must come to a point in your life where you can deal with them in
a manner that still will edify the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…
Think about all the nasty people that Christ encountered on His way to the
cross… Insults were hurled in His direction, people spit upon Him; however He
did not say a mumbling word… The very acts that
were rendered to Christ were unjustified and horrible to say the least; however
through His devotion to the will of God not only was His father exalted, but He
not sits at the right hand with all power in His hand… This is a prime of example for us to live by
and also why Paul pens this verse in His letter to the Church of Rome… We must
be kind to one another not only because we are God’s children, but also because
we never know what each person we encounter is going through or dealing with… Countless
times people have come to me and said that I encouraged them by my words and
then proceeded to tell me that they were having a bad day or going through some
trying times… Each person that you encounter can be led to Christ if they don’t
know Him or be encouraged in Christ when they felt like giving up…Likewise, if
we are not kind to one another, you can detour someone from their walk with God
or even give them fuel as to why they don’t need to turn their lives over to
Him… Each situation we face is a test… Each trial we face is another opportunity for
us to show our faith and for God to manifest His faithfulness… You will have
people enter your life with negative thoughts, you will have people who will
try and speak on your past and question your future and it is of the utmost importance
that you don’t stoop to their level, but that you stay focused on God’s word
and do what Paul tells us 11 verses later in this chapter and that is too, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
with good.” The enemy wants to
turn you from God’s plan, he wants to disconnect you from the will of God, but
you must stay the course, don’t allow him to get you thinking in response to
negative words or evil intentions… When we focus on the problems that someone
has caused we give life to the enemy to break down our thoughts and then detour
us from aligning ourselves with the very will of God… This is the very reason
why Paul stated in the verses written early in this chapter that we must be “transformed by the renewing of our mind…” Your mind must be focused on the Lord and the
way to keep it there is to speak kind words in the face of unkind people…. To
say you love someone means you have embraced that whole person despite their
blemishes or faults. To say the word love brings an element of commitment when
things aren’t always on the straight and narrow. Many people use that word, but
never live the meaning. The word love is defined by Christ in that he preferred
us over himself; He went the extra mile on Calvary when He didn’t have
too, and He gave His life for a love He had and we didn’t even deserve to
receive. That is LOVE; and
indeed it is kindly affection!!!!
BE BLESSED!!!
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