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Love must be sincere\u2026 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves (Romans 12:9a, 10).

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In our reflections on Romans 12, we are taking a deep dive into \u2018love\u2019. We\u2019ve discovered that love is not primarily a feeling but an attitude of the Christian mind, which has been made new through Christ\u2019s redeeming work. Love is a mind set, a commitment to behave and think in a certain way. We have made note that this is counter cultural, which means that a loving mind-set is something that sets Christians apart from other people. As such, it is important that we come to know what sincere love looks like. Thus, the deep dive Romans 12:9-16 offers us.

Today\u2019s text, \u201cBe devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves,\u201d brings us deeper. The Greek language, in which most of the New Testament was written, has at least four different words which, in English, all get translated as love. The words \u2018be devoted\u2019 and \u2018love\u2019 are translated from the Greek word which refer to love in the family. The first is often used to describe the love of a parent towards a child, that natural, protective, fierce love that parents often feel when they first hold their newborn child. Our second word for love refers to affection between siblings. Granted, family relationships are often tainted and even ruined by sin. However, Paul is inviting us to think about the relationships within the church in the best ways in which families relate to each other. Now understand, he is not writing to someone else, he is writing to you and I. We are being called to behave in the best possible loving manner towards fellow Christians.

How can we be devoted to one another? By honouring others above ourselves. Other English translations render this as \u201coutdo one another in showing honor\u201d. It\u2019s an invitation to a friendly sort of competition. We are exhorted to put other believers first as an expression of genuine love. Without this attitude all manner of evil attitudes and tensions will inevitably arise. More often than not, trouble erupts because we feel offended when we perceive, rightly or wrongly, that our positions have been usurped or we have been slighted.

The insistence on my position and my rights rather than putting others first is the seedbed in which a whole crop of evil flourishes. But where love is expressed in glad acknowledgement of the achievement of others and where we genuinely appreciate our own deficiencies, it is hard for evil to triumph. As someone once wrote, \u201cConcentrate on her good points and my bad points rather than on my good points and her bad points.\u201d A marriage counsellor probably wrote that, but it is exactly how Paul is advocating all Christians to behave in the church.

As a spiritual family, the church is to exhibit the intimacy and tenderness toward one another that mark the best earthly families. Paul\u2019s terms are drenched with tenderness and kindness. Our love is to be characterized by the warm affection shared between members of a family. It\u2019s true that family members can be especially difficult to love! Nevertheless, we must make every effort simply because we have a family bond formed in Jesus\u2019 blood that cannot be broken.

We are to listen when someone speaks and give his or her words careful consideration. We must allow others to differ from us, respecting their opinions even though we disagree. We are to treat another person\u2019s feelings with care and respect, demonstrating gratitude for one another. Christian are called to this sort of sincere love, when face to face, when at church meetings, and even on Facebook and Twitter.

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