Romans 12:9-13

Passage

Love is without show: while being repulsed by evil, while joining yourself to good, by brotherly love into warm devotion for each other in your spiritual family, while being eager in showing honor to one another, by devotion not lacking in ambition, while showing enthusiasm by the Spirit, while serving for the Lord, while rejoicing in hope, while enduring affliction, while devoting yourself to prayer, while fellowshipping in community regarding the needs of the holy ones, and while striving toward hospitality.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

This is a very unique passage in the Greek.  In this whole passage, there are no true verbs, which is why I chose to translate it as a list rather than a bunch of sentences.  In translating it this way, it really demonstrates the complexity and fullness of what love is.  So often we think of love in simplistic terms, but true love demonstrates each of these characteristics in one manner or another.  Love is complex.  Of course, since God is love it should not surprise us to hear that love has greater depth and wider breadth than we can honestly fathom most of the time.

When you think of love, how do you define it?  How many of Paul’s descriptions above do you typically consider as a part of love?

Second Thought:

Some of the dynamics of love are directed along the line of truth.  Love is repulsed by evil.  Love joins with good.  Love does not lack ambition.  Love is enthusiastic.  Love rejoices.  Many of these concepts are ideas that I don’t often necessarily associate with love, but I should.  We should be enthusiastic about our love.  We should be ambitious with respect to love.  Love should draw us into rejoicing.  Love is repulsed by evil rather than making excuses for it.  Love embraces good rather than becoming jealous of it.  While I find these words inviting, I also find the truth within them rather challenging.

How do these words invite you in to relationship with God through His love?  How do these words challenge you in how you interact with His love?

Third Thought:

The rest of the dynamics in this list are external displays with respect to love.  Love leads us into devotion for one another.  Love leads us into honoring the other.  Love leads us into service.  Love leads us into enduring affliction.  Love drives us into fellowship and sharing each others’ needs.  Love leads us into hospitality.  Love drives God’s display within us.  But perhaps the greatest display that I find in this passage is the first one.  Love is without show.  Love doesn’t act to be praised and glorified.  Love acts because God should be praised and glorified.  Love just isn’t found in the show.  In this statement I find much in common with Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:1-4.

When you display love, how much show is involved?  Why do we like the show?  How do the dynamics of love spoken about in this thought actually shine better when the show is removed?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 12:14-18