(Romans 12:9) starts like this, “Let love be genuine.” I’ve been thinking about this lately. How does our love for one another become genuine? Paul is writing to the Romans and has already broken down the gospel and in this passage he is writing about what a real Christian looks like. Other versions of this verse say “love must be without hypocrisy.” It is interesting that this is the first mark of a Christian that Paul mentions. Remember that the greatest command from God is to love Him with all your soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:37-29). Let this love be genuine; toward God and people. Here is the opposite of genuine. Hypocritical, dishonest, fake, unreal… Followers of Jesus prove their genuineness as they willfully give all for the one the believe is true. Luke 9:3-6 gives an example of how willing Jesus’s followers were to give all that they had to follow their savior and bring the message of salvation to the world. Another example of a guy who was willing to give his life for the advancement of the gospel is Stephen in Acts 7:54-60. To be genuine does not necessarily mean to go die for what you believe in, but rather to be willing, in every way to let go of self and cling to God, even if that means death. This is the only way we can truly love, and truly be genuine and real. I realized a long time ago that I cannot love without God. In fact, when I was lost in sin I hated people. It wasn’t until I began clinging to God that I was able to show love and mercy to those around me.
Now, I want to ask myself this question… Is my love for God genuine? Do I wake up every morning a hypocrite or a bonefide follower of Jesus Christ? Check the rest of Romans 12:9-21 and Luke 9:23.
NationsMinded 