Roman 12:9-11; Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. (Romans 12:9-16a, ESV) Its a laundry list of good things. Gods Word not only tells us what to do but it says be genuine! That means we are to do these things with our whole heart. According to God, doing good on the outside isnt enough. We have to have our heart in it, too. Its hard to do... no, actually it is impossible. Our own self interest gets in the way. We pretend to be genuine when we look to impress others, or hope for some favor in return. We do to others so that they do to us. If only we could be genuine! If only we could serve completely for the sake of others. Our sinful hearts betray us to sin. Sin is death. Jesus is life. His blood shed on the cross cleanses the sin from the things we do. So we serve... in spite of our sin. We serve when our hearts are in it... and when they are not. We serve for the benefit of our neighbor. We serve and trust Jesus to forgive the sin that is always present. Let us pray: Savior, when I serve, forgive my sin that my neighbor may receive the full benefit. Amen.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:49:08 +0000
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