“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).

In the last few devotionals, we have been discussing sanctification, which is defined as growing more Christlike. Christ himself tells us that the two greatest commands are to love God and to love one another. “Love in action” is the way we continue to grow in our Christlikeness, our sanctification. In other words, this is how we apply the teaching to our own lives to conform to the image of Christ.

The passage above begins with the transition word “therefore.” Paul is transitioning from the first eleven chapters of Romans on the doctrines of the sovereignty of God, sin, salvation, faith, grace, etc. Then, in light of these great truths, Paul tells us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. He compares the church to a human body, working together in unity based on the unique gifting of each believer. In the second half of chapter 12, he gives us specific instructions on “love in action:”

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 9-12).

First, love must be from the heart: real, not faked, not an act. Our motives must be pure. This is harder than it sounds. In fact, this is impossible without the support of the Holy Spirit. As humans, other than the love for our own children, our love for others often has a self-serving component.

To love as Jesus loves, we must have a right perspective of ourselves, which requires prayerful intention and wisdom. Made in the image of God, all humans have equal value before God. We are not to look down on others, but instead to honor one another above ourselves. Can you imagine what a wonderful place earth would be if everyone loved like that, like Jesus does?

This passage gives us some additional qualities to pursue in our goal of sanctification. We are to zealously serve the Lord, to be joyful, patient, and faithful regardless of our circumstances. Faith is a gift of God. Joy, patience, and faithfulness are fruits of the spirit. Many scriptures reaffirm these qualities. In other words, we can only exhibit these qualities under the power and with the strength provided by the Holy Spirit.

If you are seriously reading this right now, if you are like me, you may feel overwhelmed, you perhaps even feel like a total failure. It is a really high bar to love like Jesus; sometimes, it is even too high a bar to want to love like Jesus. That is where the daily discipline of confession, prayer, and Bible study will change the desires of our heart and our ability to produce these qualities in ever increasing measure. As Paul says, we must press on toward the goal.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

In Christ,
Judy

P.S.: If you would like to talk more about any of these devotions or matters that concern you, please stop by my office, or call or text me at 615-804-3453 to arrange a time, and I will be happy to speak with you.