Romans 12:16 “Live in harmony with one another.”
This seven-part series on transformation began in the May 2nd devotion where we put on a new lens in our walk with God. The second part of the teaching on transformation was the May 9th devotion where we learned that humility, or being poor in spirit, kept you in the hands of God. Today we learn the importance of people.
Our high-tech world has helped make us highly impersonal. An impersonal approach to life makes us highly vulnerable to not loving people. In Luke 10:27, Jesus said that everything in your Christian life is dependent upon loving God and loving people, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Today’s verse is tucked into a powerful segment of Scripture where Paul teaches us to not just coexist with others, but to also flourish with them. Romans 12:14-21 instructs us to: “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. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath . . . If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink . . . Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”
Jesus taught and lived this way. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus taught us to, “Pray for those who persecute you.” In Matthew 6:14, He guided us to, “Forgive men who sin against you.” He warned us in Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge or you will be judged.” And in Matthew 18:33, He asked, “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant as I have had mercy on you?
Doesn’t everyone have to honestly say, “I fail in meeting these requirements?” I could spend pages writing, but the meaning is straight forward: Love and bless others, rejoice in others, mourn with others, live in harmony, be humble, lack conceit, live in peace with forgiveness, care for, while always resisting evil.
How do you put others before yourself? You must continue to go deeper and deeper into a relationship with your living Savior through the transforming power of the Spirit. Submit continually to Christ while listening for Christ’s convictions when you are in the wrong or need direction. Live a life of faith that acts in obedience. God placed you on this earth not to live in isolation, but to love Him and all people.
Luke 17:3-4 “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
Do you know someone who needs this message on loving people? Click below to forward this devotion to them.
Here are some Bible studies from Growing in Christ to help your transformative experience in this area: “Deeper with God” and “Transformation – Part 1.”