Romans 12:14-18 “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.”
As the last day of Hanukkah has come, we’re going to put these five verses together as Paul is telling us a central theme. That theme is compassion. Compassion is a sympathetic concern for the sufferings of others. As you read through the above passage, you can see compassion in one way or another in everything Paul is telling us to do, with the exception of the first verse. How can you have compassion for someone that is persecuting you?
Bless, don’t curse.
It’s been said that the reason we hate is that we just don’t understand. Persecution only comes from people that don’t like us, possibly even hate us. Our instinct is to lash out in retaliation. Paul is telling us to bless them instead. Could it be that they are persecuting because they don’t understand, and we retaliate because we don’t take the time to understand either? If we have compassion for them for whatever they are going through, maybe it will reveal the real reason for the persecution. Now, even if we could see their point of view, it doesn’t mean we’re going to change their mind about us and why they are persecuting us, but if we bless them when they persecute us, who knows what effect that could have. Paul is repeating a command from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus, Himself told us to bless those that persecute us. And remember, the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.
So today, this last day of Hanukkah, dedicate yourself to living through compassion in every situation you encounter.
Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
The first half of this verse goes along with yesterday’s post on knowing God because God is love from 1 John 4. Today we’ll add verse 20. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” It’s because of our love for God that we are to love our brothers (and sisters). John 13:35 says, “By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.”
We are also admonished to outdo one another in showing honor. To honor someone means to have high respect for them. The Bible has many verses about not putting ourselves above others. Proverbs 25:6,7 tells us not to put ourselves in the seat next to the king “for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” We are to choose a lesser position for ourselves. Yeshua said He didn’t come to be served but to serve. We should do the same. So, we are to OUTDO one another in being a servant to them.
Today’s verse is really about showing love and respect, and to outdo each other while doing it.
Today, dedicate yourself to love and respect for others.
Happy Hanukkah!
(To learn more about this topic, check out the Love & Respect podcast by Emerson and Jonathan Eggerich. You’ll be glad you did.)
Romans 12:9 “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
What is genuine love? John explains this to us in his first epistle. 1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
John is saying that God is the standard for love, so it is only through God that genuine love can come. We must KNOW God in order to KNOW love. And if our love comes from God, then we should naturally abhor evil because it is the opposite of God’s nature. If evil comes our way, we should resist it at all costs.
James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
If we are deep in God’s Word, as yesterday’s post advocated, it should come as a matter of course to resist the devil. And God gave us the tools to do just that.
Ephesians 6:11-18a “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”
Today, dedicate yourselves to putting on the full armor of God and resisting evil.
