9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,[c] serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.[d] Never be wise in your own sight.
Romans 12:9-16, ESV
After Paul instructs about using our God-given gifts (see last week’s devotion or read Romans 12:3-8), he jumps into what is called the “one-anothers”. How is a church supposed to function together? How should we treat one-another?
- Be devoted to one another in brotherly love
- Give preference to one another
- Contribute to the needs of the saints
- Practice hospitality
- Rejoice with those who rejoice
- Weep with those who weep
- Live in harmony
- Be humble
We are supposed to be committed to each other as family. We don’t just FEEL brotherly love for one another, but we SHOW that brotherly love. This is extremely difficult to do in the American church because so many have reduced church as just a place to attend on Sundays… Nothing more. It’s easy to reduce church to: helping us keep a good perspective and teaching us values but that’s it. We become parasites, consuming and sucking life instead of contributing back into the body. We should be INVESTING into the life of the church community.
And the beautiful thing about this healthy, unified and harmonious community is that it reciprocates what you give. When we focus on contributing more than consuming, we will naturally receive from others who are doing the same thing. This is how God designed church community.