Romans 12:9, 10
July 9, 2006
Cultivating An Environment of Love So That God Can Have a
Living, Functioning Body
Chapter
12 of Romans talks about the Body of Christ in a very practical
way. For the Lord to have a living,
operating, functioning Body here on earth where we live, a lot of practical
doing and learning needs to happen. This
all begins with presenting our bodies to God to be with the believers He has placed
us with. This is not easy! The different members of the Lord’s Body will
become a challenge to us. If we are
willing to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, these challenges can
become opportunities to prove that the will of God is good, well-pleasing, and
perfect. The renewing of our mind will
especially touch our attitude toward the other members of His Body.
Next,
more practical challenges await us when we attempt to step out and put our
faith in action. Out of the grace we
have received, we will be supplied to take action in some way to do something
the Lord wants us to do. This is to
invest and spend the grace that we have.
Here is a real learning - to identify what the Lord may be speaking in
our heart and to step out in faith to do it.
This diagram gives us a picture of
how we exercise our gift to function as a member of the Body:
Grace/Supply
Function/Operation Faith/Action
We may
not be that clear about what the Lord wants us to take action on. We may be afraid of failing in our attempts
to function. As we start to take action
on a certain matter, we may realize that we are inadequate and lacking in many
areas. We might wonder what others will
think. Others may misunderstand our
intentions. Sometimes we may feel that
we are not received or even judged and criticized. Offenses
may occur. What the Lord put in our
heart may get clouded over when we attempt to put it in practice. One reaction is to hide and bury what the
Lord put in our heart.
What if
the Lord touches a brother or sister about something that outwardly seems to be
insignificant and apparently has no direct involvement with His church or
purpose? This may not fit our concept of
service to the Lord. Yet, to that saint,
the more they ignore this matter, they may not have peace. For whatever reason, the Lord still insists
that they take care of this, because the feeling about it does not go
away. If I am in fellowship with this
saint, can I be open to the Lord and to that saint to encourage them to seek
the Lord about this and not cast judgment on their actions? Can I be open to
let the Lord have a free way in my thinking about that saint in this matter and
encourage that saint to let the Lord have a free way in them? Can I recognize that this may also be a part
of functioning as a member in His Body?
This kind of feeling and thinking is not easy to practice!
It is in these practical attempts to
function according to what the Lord has put in our heart that we realize we
need much encouragement from the Lord and His Body. Maybe this is why Paul mentions in verses
9-21 human virtues that touch our attitude toward others. God would cultivate through us an environment
that would allow all the members of His living Body to function and operate
according to their measure of faith and grace.
This environment is characterized by “love without hypocrisy” (
This is similar to 1 Corinthians 12
talking about exercising the gifts by the members of the Lord’s Body. This is followed by 1 Corinthians 13 showing
that the most excellent way for exercising the gifts is love.
In Romans
12:9, Paul says “Let love be without hypocrisy.” The little word “let” means to give
opportunity, to give permission, or to allow.
There is a love that is without hypocrisy. This love is genuine and sincere without any
falsehood, pretense, show, mask, or performance. This love is a virtue of the
Lord’s life within us. Christ is the
“unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:8). Let this “Love” be in all our dealings with
others. Allow this “Love” and give this
“Love” the opportunity, the permission to be in all our dealings with others.
Verse 9
continues with “Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.” Again, in our dealing with others, this is a
virtue that is needed. In our natural
life, how easy it is to only see the “evil” and not see the good in others.
Verse 10
says “Love one another warmly in brotherly love.” Loving others warmly will foster an
environment that is safe to fail and make mistakes so we can learn and function. .An environment of warmth can speak volumes
to bring in much healing and comfort to others.
“Take the lead in showing honor one to another.” To honor others is to show respect, regard,
to pay attention to, to recognize the worth of a person, to esteem (a warm
feeling accompanying a high valuation and appreciation). These are virtues of the Lord’s life in us.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus
have a way through us to cultivate an environment rich in the expression of Your
virtues so that the functioning and operation of each saint can be realized!
Grace/Supply
Function/Operation Faith/Action