And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the Lord.
Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
Romans 12
I have been reading Romans over the past week and keep going back to this passage over and over again. What has hit me is how we love. Do I love with genuine affection? Do I love the way I should love? Do we as a people love the way we have been called to love? How can we do this? What does it take to share this type of love with people? And my ultimate question how can I teach the students that I work with to love? I mean really love?
Any thoughts?
1 comment:
Wow that section really does make one think doesn't it?
Only you can answer the question as to whether you love the way God calls you to love. As a world as a whole it is obvious we do not. We as a world truly do not know how to. In order to love the way we are called to we must first learn to be tolerant. We must put our judgments aside and see a person for who they truly are rather than get caught up in the superficial.
As for what you can do to teach those around you such as your students truly your actions will speak louder than your words. But your words are also strong. When they express intolerance towards someone talk it out with them and get to the bottom of their reasoning and then see if you can maybe try and understand the person and what may make them who they are. Teach them that to give love is to step up and try and give that person something they may be lacking. A listening ear, compassionate heart, sincere interest. That sort of thing. YOU know how to do this. I have seen you be this way to others and that is why so many love you.
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