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Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good (Romans 12:9).

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Love must be sincere is the theme that begins here in Romans 12:9 and is fleshed out in the rest of this chapter and even beyond. The problem with love is that it can be a vague term. People fill it with almost any meaning they want. We believe that a person can \u201cfall\u201d in and out of it. And so, the biblical meaning and significance of love needs our careful attention. Let\u2019s remember that godly love is not an emotion. It is an attitude, a mind-set; an aspect of the renewed mind. We are commanded to love; it is therefore a choice we make, a matter of the will.

Without the enabling grace of God, none of us can love in the way the Bible asks us to. Such love is never the product of our human wills. But our wills are involved. The Holy Spirit fosters it within us. It is our job to cooperate with the Spirit in developing a consistent mind-set of love toward others. We must also work actively to put love into effect in our relationships. The Christian who nurtures an attitude of love will act in the ways that Paul describes here. Because we define love on God\u2019s terms, it acts in accordance with God\u2019s good and perfect will (12:2).

The first aspect of this kind of love is discernment: hate what is evil; cling to what is good (9b). Ironic, isn\u2019t it, that the exhortation to love is followed immediately by a command to hate. But we should not be surprised. For love is not the blind sentiment it is often portrayed as. Rather, love passionately seeks the best for the one loved. Thus, it must hate everything evil that is incompatible with the loved one\u2019s highest welfare. Paul\u2019s word for \u2018hate\u2019 suggests a very strong aversion, an abhorrence, a loathing, a vomiting out. Whereas his word for cling, suggests supper glue, a bonding like two pieces of steel welded together.

Love must be sincere is the positive version of the biblical command, \u201cdo not kill.\u201d The Heidelberg Catechism offers us this explanation of that commandment, \u201cI am not to belittle, insult, hate, or kill my neighbor--not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds--and I am not to be party to this in others; rather, I am to put away all desire for revenge. I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either\u2026By forbidding murder God teaches us that he hates the root of murder: envy, hatred, anger, vindictiveness. In God's sight all such are murder\u201d (Q 105 & 106).

When love encounters what is evil, it refuses to participate. Love doesn\u2019t embrace evil, nor does it merely look the other way. Love dares to confront someone doing evil, not to judge or browbeat, but to inspire righteousness. On the other hand, love \u201cclings to what is good.\u201d In order to repel evil and cling to good, love must know the difference. The Christian desiring to love sincerely must be able to discern the difference between good and evil.

How can we train ourselves in the ways of love? Anyone who has tried knows its not easy. Like all Christian virtues, prayer and scripture are the beginning. How else will we know God\u2019s version of love? We can also get our minds engaged in other ways. How about watching an episode of a favourite Netflix show or a chapter of a favourite novel? Then discern the ways in which the characters practice love or the lack there of. It won\u2019t do to shut down our minds when being entertained. Rather, we may find some brilliant nuances of love right among our favourite characters.

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