Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Romans 12:9-16 (NIV)
Love in Action
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Have you ever noticed that it’s far easier to love someone who loves you? It’s easy to be nice to those who are nice to you. As we continue to read in Romans 12, we see that the whole community is called to be loving, humble, patient and prayerful with one another. What a wonderful community to live within. Yet, there’s more to it than that. We are also called to “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse”. (Rom 12:14) How do we do this? I invite you to consider this simple command today. We are called to bless those who persecute us. Do you have someone like this in your life? How might you live in harmony with them? Are there people that you encounter that are hard to connect to? How are we a blessing to people that are not fun to be around? Try some stuff and share the things that work!