Daily Devotion – August 24, 2020 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Romans 12:9-21
12:9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
12:10 Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.
12:11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.
12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
12:16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.
12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
12:18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
12:20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.”
12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
This series of exhortations by Paul to the Romans is much like the Beatitudes – many short, simple sentences to live by and get comfort from. Many of them we might reflect upon and consider that we already do them: hate what is evil, be ardent, contribute, rejoice with rejoicers, weep with weepers.
But wait. Associate with the lowly? Never get even? Be especially nice to people who have wronged us? Hmmm.
Especially in a season when it is easy to be swept up in negative rhetoric, to participate in eye rolling, and to give up listening to people who blatantly disagree with us, how successful are we at following these Pauline/Romans words to live by? How do we practice actual kindness and generosity? I am going to admit that sometimes it is next to impossible for me to even think kindly about some people, let alone treat them kindly.
I’m going to try to do two things this week to begin living as this text would exhort me to live:
1. pick one thing on this list in Romans for the coming week and actually do it for a person I find difficult to love
2. hang out, at least by phone, with someone whose life exemplifies this kind of loving behavior and figure out how she does it
How about you?
Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us instruction in how to live in service of your love to the world. Help us to get better at it. Amen.
