I have been camping in the book of Romans for quite some time now and the first eleven chapters of the book focus on foundational doctrines on who we are before Christ, who we become in Christ, how the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross changes everything for a believer, the tension that exists between our old self and the new redeemed self in Christ, the sovereignty of God in choosing people and the future glory of Israel. Paul makes it a priority to explain to Christians that there is now no condemnation to those that are in Christ, that no one can lay charges against the elect, that God is for us therefore no one can be against us and that it is inconceivable to think that the God who did not spare His own son for the sake of the elects will not also give the elects all things (Romans 8:32), these and many more are some core truths of the first part of Romans. However, when we get to the twelfth chapter, the focus is more on what this new life in Christ means practically for the Christian; how our new found faith changes how we eat, drink, work, think, and live in this world as citizens of the kingdom of God in a foreign land. For this post, I wanted to focus on one practical topic Paul touches on which is love.
Love itself is such a confusing word in our world today with a varying meaning from one person to the other. It is quite interesting when you think about the fact that a word that has such depth has been reduced to a “feeling”, something both euphoric and esoteric at the same time devoid of its service, sacrifice and long-suffering. The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8), and in that respect, we see it more clearly displayed in the love Jesus exhibited for us in dying for our sake, we who were his enemies. The love that the Bible talks about is active, an action verb that is always doing, not simply receiving as our world describes it today. Love in the Bible is described in practical terms. For example, as mentioned above, Jesus dying on the cross for us is described as love; in 1 Corinthians, Paul describes love as being patient and kind; not envious or boastful; not arrogant or rude; not insisting on its own way; not irritable or resentful; not rejoicing at wrongdoing rather rejoicing with the truth; bearing all things; believing all things; hoping all things and enduring all things and to top it all off, Paull adds that love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Paul figured that the best way to define love is by describing what it does. The same idea is shown in other passages of the Bible. Jesus himself said that loving him means obeying his commandments (John 14:15). Therefore, to love is to obey which is not relegated to an emotion of some sort. Love in the Bible is very tangible; it has wonderful fruits that any person can point to and recognize. I had never realized how practical love was described in the Bible.
In the book of Romans, Paul tells the church in Rome to owe no one anything except to love each other (Romans 13:8). I find the use of the language very strong. We owe love to one another in Christ, in other terms, we are indebted to one another in love. That is what we are expected to give and this love as Paul continues is shown through our obedience to the commandments. This obedience of the commandments is simply treating the other person the way you would treat yourself; it is thinking of the other more highly than yourself; it is being ready to deny yourself for the sake of your brother or sister; it is not passing judgement on a brother or sister because they are not worshipping like you would whether in the way they observe a religious feast or in their abstention from certain foods. Paul encourages believers to not be people who cause their brother or sister to stumble because of their freedom and strong faith. For example, a brother that is strong in the Lord will decide that all foods are lawful for him to have, and he will have them but that brother should not pass judgement on another brother with a younger faith who believes eating a certain meal is sinful. Moreover, the brother who eats everything should also not eat the one food that is found unlawful by the younger believer as that may cause the younger believer to stumble and fall. The reality is that so many of us come from different backgrounds and some of these restrictions that believers have can also stem from the culture they were brought up in. Therefore, as Christians, the loving thing to do is to ensure your freedom does not become a stumbling block for another brother or sister. This is particularly difficult for us because we love to have our way in many things. Paul is exhorting us that to love means to think less of ourselves; he is showing us that loving one another will not always be comfortable but it will always be rewarding. For Paul, those who are more mature and strong in the faith “have an obligation to bear the failings of the weak, and not to please themselves” (Romans 15:1). I am not sure how many of us think of the responsibility we have towards those that are not as mature as we are in the faith, those are still “babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1, KJV)? The goal here is to build up the weaker one for his good not to please ourselves. Just as Jesus did not come into this world to please himself but to serve others, we too, who are his followers cannot claim to love him and be living lives to please ourselves. It just does not make sense, and it is contrary to the one we claim to serve and love. Jesus remains our example in everything we do. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation and by him all things were made in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:15-17). If Jesus, being glorious as he is did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped yet humbled himself on the cross for the sake of sinners like us (Philippians 2:6), if he did not please himself but pleased the Father by his suffering why do we think it is okay for us to live lives that are pleasing just to us? Should we not be all the more eager to put the interests of others above ourselves for their building up? What will it take for us to realize that this redeemed life we have is not our own but the LORD’s?
Offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1) means denying the pleasures of the flesh for the sake of a brother or sister; it means treating our neighbours as ourselves whether in Christ or not; it means seeing ourselves not more highly than we are; it means putting the interests of others over our own; it means learning to be humble so that God can elevate us. Obviously, these are not easy things, but they are doable. In fact, Jesus guarantees that for us since he left us with the Holy Spirit who gives us more grace each day to live like Christ and look like Christ as we behold him. May we be reminded of our new identity in Christ and the spiritual blessings that are ours for Christ’s sake so that we will strive to live for him always. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 