“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other.”
Romans 12:9-10 NLT
Paul takes another breath, pausing while he thinks about what comes next, following his Holy Spirit inspired thoughts about the motivational gifts. We can almost see him with his pen held above the parchment, ink ready to flow. The Holy Spirit prompts his thoughts towards love. Loving others. In his mind is, perhaps, the memory of the strife in Rome, between the Jewish and Gentile believers. And he writes that they should love each other. And not just outwardly, with a false sense of going through the motions, but with real love, coming from deep within them.
This is a theme that he returned to several times in his letters. He wrote the much quoted section in 1 Corinthians 13 about the qualities of love, and how it should be applied. He wasn’t talking about a “what’s in it for me” sort of love. Rather a love that desires the other person’s highest good. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 bears repeating here, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance”. Paul sets out a measure against which we can gauge our success in loving. How patient are we with our husbands or wives? Do we get irritable with them? Do we remember those times when our partners wronged us, failing to forgive and forget, but instead bringing up the issue at every opportunity? Do we get jealous when someone we know and love achieves something that we wish we had achieved? Hmmm…
Jesus taught His disciples the importance of loving each other. We read in John 13:34-35, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples”. Jesus gave His disciples, and us, by implication because we are His disciples too, a commandment to love each other. Such an act will make the world notice us, but, sadly, the strife that so publicly marks differences between Christians tells a different story. Bigotry rears its ugly head frequently in our societies, bringing disrepute to the Christian faith. Inter-denominational rivalries overflow into secular and sectarian environments, and, here in Scotland, even to football matches.
We pilgrims are founded on love. God so loved us that He sent Jesus, so that He could lavish His love on us in Heaven. A sobering yet joyous thought. One which we can only respond to on our knees as we thank Him for His merciful love.
Dear Father God. Please forgive us when we dwell on the differences between us rather than the parts of our faith that bind us. In Jesus name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 