“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. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 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. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:9-21
Take a moment to go back and read those verses again. If you are like me in reading through this list of things that we are to do as believers in Christ, you probably missed some. Or if you paid attention to everything in the list you probably noticed that some are a lot easier to do than others.
I don’t know that I am always constant in prayer. I need to work on that. And probably many other things on this list. Loving those in the church with brotherly affection is a lot easier than blessing those who persecute or showing love and kindness to an enemy. God uses all circumstances in our lives for our sanctification. The good and the bad.
This past month our family had some opportunities to practice hospitality and that was a great blessing. What on this list can you, or do you need to practice this week? I encourage you to read the passage again and seek for ways you can live out the Christian life. May God help us all as we seek to grow in grace and love.
Press on in the love of Christ and remember slow and steady wins the race. Day by day, hour by hour, God is at work. Enjoy this day that He has given to you.