9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do 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. 14 Bless those who persecute you;
bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those
who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another Do not be haughty, but associate
with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil,
but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so
far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves,
but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I
will repay, says the Lord." 20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry,
feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will
heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome
evil with good. ~ Romans 12:9-21 (English Standard Version)
In the previous 7 verses Paul explains how we are all gifted
differently just as a body has many parts but we are all still a part of that
same body and our faith is appropriate for the different roles that we must
work together for the good of the body. Paul the offers this poetic opus into
how love surrenders for the common good for God’s church. The translations we
have do not glean all the words that have love in the opening verse of this
section. Verse 9 begins with “Let love be genuine.” Paul is saying here that we
are to love others authentically and genuinely. The next verse, verse 10 goes
on to literally say that in brotherly/sisterly love we are to be lovingly
affectionate. Remember there are many of the specific commands we are given for
the practical and detailed ways for loving others. Then verse 13 ends with
hospitality, but Paul's word for hospitality (filoxenia; Philoxenia) is
literally “love to stranger”. It is safe to say that there is a lot of love
language from Apostle Paul here in Romans.
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you” ~ Matthew 5:44 (ESV) “be patient in tribulation, be constant
in prayer.” (Verse 12)
“bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” ~
Luke 6:28 (ESV) “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”
(Verse 14)
There are other inferences to the wisdom of Jesus throughout chapter
13, the love Jesus has for others at Golgotha is reinforced in Romans:
“1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the
failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us
please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ
did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of
those who reproached you fell on me."” ~ Romans 15:1-3 (ESV).
Apostle Paul is indicating that if we are to love genuinely we
must love as Jesus loves. Apostle Paul’s words here are not merely saying,
"Love others more," Paul is describing very specific actions for
loving others.
Paul here in Romans 12:9-21 is giving us very specific ideas on
how we can authentically love: "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with
those who weep" (12:15), or "If possible, so far as it depends on
you, live peaceably with all" (12:18).
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty,
give him water to drink, 22 for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the
LORD will reward you. ~ Proverbs 25:21-22 ESV)
Of course, this does not endorse allowing abuse upon us that arise in many
dysfunctional relationships. It means we are to look for and meet others' genuine
needs, as we have the ability, including the needs of those who despise us. Why
does Jesus and now Paul encourage us to do so; "for by so doing you will
heap burning coals on his heads" (Romans 12:20; Proverbs 25:22)? Scholars
disagree on this text whether it is saying that by loving an enemy will
increase God's judgment on them or that by loving your enemy will help them see
their wrongs and repent. We pray that they will see the evil in their ways and
repent and fits much more with the text that we are not to repaying evil in of our
personal relationships. Love is to be genuine. Our love to our enemy will not
be genuine if our motivation is that by showing kindness will increases God's punishment
on the person.
Genuine love is the emphasized topic in Paul’s text here in Romans.
The more noticeable topic here is that good and evil that Paul directs
throughout this text. Take note how "abhor what is evil, hold fast to what
is good" is immediately after the first line "Let love be
genuine." Then the good and evil theme very clearly cited: "Do not be
overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Verse 21). Paul is clearly
showing that genuine love is not about being nice to people. Genuine love, as Paul explains it, has a moral frontage concerning the good. By showing someone
genuine (Godly) love, we are transitioning them to God's goodness. When we show
genuine Godly love we are not pampering them to their specific preferences and averseness.
Preferably, we are moving then toward experiencing more of God and His goodness.
Father we know that in order to be able to love anyone, especially our
enemy, those who wish us harm or evil we need the genuine love only Yon can
offer. Please for the sake of Your Son and the love of Your people, give us the
power through the Holy Spirit to genuinely love all people, even those we call enemy. Amen.
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