“Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another.  Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited.” (Romans 12:9-16, NIV)

Love is the key to community.  This is clear enough in 1 Corinthians 12-13, where Paul demonstrates its central position in the life of the church.  Convinced of the importance of love, we can then turn to the passage under consideration for a practical peek at what it means to truly live in community.  In his letter to the Romans, Paul gives sound, relevant, godly advice for those truly seeking to love one another.

In order to explore the role of love, we have to know what the term means in the midst of a society that throws it around with careless abandon and for purposes directly opposing its true meaning.  For our discussion, let us define love as that force which seeks the highest good for its object without regard to personal loss or gain.  As a quick aside, bear in mind that we must be careful to distinguish “love” from “kindness” or “friendliness.”  Love must be willing to make its object unhappy in order to reach its highest good.*

Far more important than philosophical definitions of love, which we could produce ad nauseum, is how we are to practically apply it, and that is exactly what Paul gives us.  He paints an entirely coherent, if ambitious, portrait of love operating in community.  At the core of this, not surprisingly, is our relationship with God.  We must “hate what is evil [and] cling to what is good” before we can “be devoted to one another.”  Throughout this passage, Paul reminds us that we must love God before we are able to love others.  In fact, our love for God enables us to love each other.

According to this passage, loving means giving of oneself in very tangible ways.  To honestly pursue a life characterized by this type of love is, quite naturally, a remarkable challenge.  Once we come to grips with this, however, we’re hit right between the eyes with, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”  We know that “In this world [we] will have trouble,” (John 16:33) but Paul takes our response a step further than simply turning the other cheek.  Not only are we to accept persecution; we are to love our persecutors.  Lest we attempt any mitigation on this point, claiming that Paul must not have imagined the horrible things that people are capable of doing to us, let us turn to 2 Corinthians 11:23-28.  Paul writes,

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.  I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

Regardless of the extent to which we’ve suffered, it is unlikely a fair accusation to claim that Paul couldn’t have related.  Even if, however, our suffering has surpassed that which he describes, I would suggest we have all the more cause to love, as those who persecute us are so clearly in such desperate need.

Matt Honstain

*For a much better and more detailed discussion of this concept, see C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, ch. 3 (you can borrow my copy if you want).