“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. “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. We are continuing in Romans Chapter 12 with Paul’s specific instructions on Love in Action:

“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited (Romans 12:13-16).

Do you see a theme here? We cannot be followers of Jesus in isolation. We become Christlike by living lovingly in community. For some, this may be natural. For others it will be challenging. I love to hear stories about bringing people into one’s home from off the street, feeding and meeting their needs. That is not me, at least not naturally. But it can be all of us if we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us to show this supernatural love. And we must not discriminate: we are to share with those in need, bless those who persecute us, mourn with those who mourn, and associate with those in more lowly positions than our own. In the words of Jesus (from Luke 6:31-36:

 Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

We are not to be partial; we are not to discriminate. Praise the Lord that Jesus is obedient to His Father in showing mercy to each of us with His sacrificial love, when we certainly are not worthy. So let us follow in His footsteps, becoming more Christlike, showing sacrificial love to others.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

In Christ,

Judy