Romans 12:9-10 New Living Translation
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold on tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection,[a] and take delight in honoring each other.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.
Oh, here they come, those loving Christians, Some are welcoming, Some are inclusive and not, Some of them are just plain soul and spirit and energy draining …we’ll say.
Oh, Yes!
“Oi’ Vie”
“Not them again!”
Here they are “marching in formation” with their bibles – God’s great pretenders!
Oh, here they come, those loving Christians, Some are welcoming, Some are inclusive and not, Some of them are just plain soul and spirit and energy draining …we’ll say.
Oh, Yes!
“Oi’ Vie”
“Not them again!”
Here they are “marching in formation” with their bibles – God’s great pretenders!
There they are on the street corners, in the park on a bench, in their work places, in the grocery stores and hurriedly and busily shopping in the Walmart or Sam’s Club. They are the ones who are sitting in their classrooms and walking and running the long halls of Academia, they are the ones in unemployment lines, homeless shelters.
We are the world of the non-believers, the discouraged, and the disillusioned.
We are also the Baptized of God with the Gospel of Jesus oozing from our souls, the Gospel message of Salvation through Jesus Christ alone – mixing together.
We are people of the world which God did create who knows how long ago.
Baptized or not, believer or non believer, here we are – one world community.
Whichever is our lot in life at this moment => We are all absolutely guilty of it.
“The Smart Phone” Posture – our attention exclusively on our emails, texts.
Walking the streets, riding on busses and subway cars, driving our vehicles, on airplanes and trains, on bicycles and motorcycles even skateboards, Segway’s.
Giving no particular attention to anyone in particular – locked, loaded on self!
Apathy
Complacency
Pretense
Singularly hoping the moment never comes when God puts the spiritual Baptized Christian, the not so spiritual Christian the Non Believer, and the apathetic, the discouraged, the disillusioned, the unsure, in the same room.
We cringe and scramble to appear busy, on the move, or in a conversation before (gasp and groan) we are actually cornered into a long conversation.
There are people we will all actually ago to impossible lengths just to void.
It’s the shocking truth.
In a world where we have been set down to serve others, when push comes to shove, we actually don’t want to, or like to, sometimes, depending upon the person, what we each have going on in our own lives at the moment, to have an encounter when actual conversations about God occurs or act .01% Christ-like.
We Are All Just Being the World’s Greatest Pretenders
The English Dictionary definition of pretend is “to cause or attempt to cause (what is not so) to seem so.”
Hand in hand and Heart to heart, Pretending runs right alongside avoidance.
I would bet my surgically repaired heart to say pretense makes Christ cringe, all the “fake” “boundaries” we put up around hurting people who border our lives.
I claim no innocence as I’m certain I am just as guilty of such negligent conduct.
Some days are such an emotional struggle for me, I don’t understand where the capacity to reach out and do anything for anyone else is going to come from.
Or, classically, I’ll find myself overwhelmed with my schedule and proclaim, “I have too many yes’s and not enough no’s in my life!”
As if my helping too many people is way too pressing of an agenda to sustain.
Oh, I can safely believe how the Lord God must absolutely roll His eyes at me.
“Most of us have learned how to be courteous to others—how to speak kindly, avoid hurting people’s feelings, and appear to take an interest in them,”
except that the Life Application Bible notes, “But God has called us to a love that goes far beyond pretense and politeness.” (Romans 12:9-10 The Message)
9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
We Are All Just Being the World’s Greatest Pretenders
The English Dictionary definition of pretend is “to cause or attempt to cause (what is not so) to seem so.”
Hand in hand and Heart to heart, Pretending runs right alongside avoidance.
I would bet my surgically repaired heart to say pretense makes Christ cringe, all the “fake” “boundaries” we put up around hurting people who border our lives.
I claim no innocence as I’m certain I am just as guilty of such negligent conduct.
Some days are such an emotional struggle for me, I don’t understand where the capacity to reach out and do anything for anyone else is going to come from.
Or, classically, I’ll find myself overwhelmed with my schedule and proclaim, “I have too many yes’s and not enough no’s in my life!”
As if my helping too many people is way too pressing of an agenda to sustain.
Oh, I can safely believe how the Lord God must absolutely roll His eyes at me.
“Most of us have learned how to be courteous to others—how to speak kindly, avoid hurting people’s feelings, and appear to take an interest in them,”
except that the Life Application Bible notes, “But God has called us to a love that goes far beyond pretense and politeness.” (Romans 12:9-10 The Message)
9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
Love from the CENTER of who we are – exactly who, whose am I at my CENTER?
Don’t Fake it – except faking the moment is the easier, less accountable option.
Run for Dear Life from Evil – who can ever run fast enough and far enough and long enough to actually avoid the presence, the power and the influence of evil?
Hold on for Dear Life to Good – sooner or later we have to let go of everything because our grips are not as strong as those of Hercules or Samson’s or God’s.
Be Good Friends who Love Deeply – How good a friend, to what commitment’s?
Practice Playing Second Fiddle – Not with my Pride and so Not with my Apathy!
This love Paul writes to the Roman believers of looks like 100% inconvenience.
It costs us time, money, and effort.
It’s more than simply putting someone on a prayer list somewhere.
We’re covenant called to care deeply for and create disciples for Jesus Christ.
Oof.
That takes time, commitment, sacrifice and resources we usually do not have.
Thankfully, the Author of every single minute of our lives has the ability to stretch human capacity to fit an insurmountable amount of love and good.
It is All About Our Being the Real Church – Easy and Difficult Sharing
No one wants to be a “charity case” or someone else’s “project.”
Nonetheless, all of us have needs.
No one can live independently.
We are dependent on other people to build things like roads, cars and houses.
We need others to raise our food and provide resources like electricity and gas.
We need to be in relationship with other people.
We need friendships and love.
Because we all have needs, apostle Paul calls us, from moment to moment to Love each other without regard to who they are, share with each other freely.
Some people are easy to share with—a friend who breaks her leg, a coworker who has surgery.
But some needs are more intense.
A severe health issue, a major depression, a death, separation or a divorce can create significant, additional needs for many months.
Sometimes church communities respond well and quickly to help someone with significant additional needs.
Sometimes churches struggle, however, with helping to meet long-term needs.
Some people don’t “get better.”
Some people wont “get better.”
People who have long-term needs tend to be forgotten after a while: shut-ins, people who develop serious physical or mental health disabilities, people with end stage chronic health issues, cancer, chronic pain or autism or dementia.
Paul calls us to deliberately and intentionally encounter each other, share not only with God’s people who are easy to share with, but also with God’s people whose needs and hurts, the disillusioned, discouraged, apathetic, complacent, time consuming, resource heavy, character building, complex, deep and long.
When the apostle Paul talks about the body of Christ in Romans 12, he urges all his listeners and readers to, as Christ first did for us, sacrificially, worshipfully, use whatever spiritual gifts they have been given to their fullest utmost ability.
It doesn’t really matter which gifts we might have.
What matters is we use them to the best of our ability for the good of others.
In community, people care for each other.
They use their gifts to help each other and to see that anyone who is wounded or hurting or in some other difficulty is looked after and loved.
Sometimes healing is possible.
Other times mourning and support are needed when healing won’t take place.
At times we all need caring for.
Acts 2:43-47 New Living Translation
43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity[a]— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
Having a genuine community of genuinely compassionate people, whether they believe in God, Jesus, Holy Spirit or not, around us to do that is essential, is the single greatest effort we can make to create opportunities for God to go to work.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Father God,
Stretch our minutes and lengthen our patience, Father. Show us how to genuinely love the people You have placed in our lives, Lord. Let us not be too busy to connect with our neighbors and have lengthy conversations while our ice cream melts in the cart. Father, we do have time for people. Our time is Your time! You are the Author of our days, and You know the number of them! Your plan for our lives includes loving others. There is no greater task or agenda than to really love them.
Show us what it means, Father, to be genuine as Christ was genuine, to hold tight to what is good. We know we need genuine, and realistic boundaries in our lives, and we realize we can’t say “yes” to all the things we want to do or that people want us to do. But the plans You have for us, Lord, You make time for. So, help us to learn, to understand what we are adding to our days which is not ordained by You, so we are free to take all the time we need to love the people You quietly put in our paths daily.
God, You are Love. You love us so much, You gave Your one and only Son, Christ Jesus, so we would not be bound to the limits of this world. In Christ, Your Holy Spirit lives in us, directing us daily to whoever needs us to extend Your love to them each day. Broaden, Heighten our sense of the Holy Spirit and sharpen our immediate obedience to follow His lead on our lives. Bless our lives to shine with the light and love of Jesus, Father. In His mighty name, we pray, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 