Reading Paul’s list of exhortations to the Romans makes me tired. Seriously.
Rid your life of hypocrisy. Love deeply. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lack diligence in zeal. Share with the saints. Pursue hospitality. Live at peace with everyone…
With everyone? Really?
Paul. I need some coffee. And also, when am I supposed to binge-watch my TV shows?
In all honesty, when I compare my life to the lives of the disciples, I begin to see why Paul fills 1 Corinthians 4:6–13 with so much irony. I practically live like a queen compared to Christ’s beloved friends back in the day and compared to much of the world today. Most of my time is spent concerned about how I’ll choose to spend my time.
I catch myself daydreaming about the life the world tells me I should have: a life with a passionate (never rocky) marriage to my soulmate, a clean and immaculate house, a career that’s advancing, children that are thriving, and plenty of time at the gym maintaining the body of a teenager. To top it off, the world tells me I need to portray this “perfect” life to the world on social media, to attract more followers.
With this world as my guide, adding Paul’s list to the mix is absolutely impossible. There are not enough hours in the day to do both what the world demands of me and what God desires for me. And so I have to choose.
Every single day I have to choose whom I will serve: my flesh or my God (Romans 12:9). Some days, I make the right choice. Some days I make the wrong one. This is the life of a work in progress, one that God promises to bring to completion in His time.
Perhaps that’s why Paul tells us to “cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). If good was an easy, simple thing to hold onto, why would he tell us to cling to it? I know that in my own life if I’m not clinging to God, the natural inclination of my heart is one of jealousy, coveting, and destructive daydreams. So while it seems like what Paul is cautioning us to do should be obvious, I know it to be oh-so difficult to put into practice. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. I know that If I’m clinging to something, then I’m desperate, grasping. I’m holding on for dear life.
These passages remind me that my very life is at stake and that evil really is evil. Paul pokes at my carefully built life, reminding me that Christ’s path of goodness, stillness, and quietness is the only route to peace. I can rest knowing that the battle is the Lord’s. But I can’t assume that rest and peace will come without effort on my part, without my choosing God. I must cling to Him and let go of everything else.
Dear Lord, help us to hold on.
HEIDI—you are so right. Is it for YAHWEH? I have to remember that too. Our God is so gracious even to give us a list of loving guidelines to live by to keep us free from the darkness of the world.
HEATHER—praise God your husband chose the program! Praying for the Lord to captivate your husband’s heart and bring him deep peace and healing. Also praying for healing for your heart and that the Lord will give you peace as He is in control of the whole situation. ❤️
TAYLOR—praying that the Lord meets your every need and gives you satisfaction in your time with Him. And leads you to the relationship He has planned for you from the beginning.
CEE GEE—praying that the Lord shows you that He is fighting for you. And that you know you are worth fighting for. He will never give up on you.
KRISTEN MARINO—praying that God shows you how precious you are no matter what your husband did, and that it was not your fault. And thank you for praying for me and baby!
RHONDA J—praying for miraculous healing of your pain and that the Lord sits with you every day through your healing.
AMANDA HESTERBERG—congrats on the new puppy! Little critters are such sweet blessings from the Lord!
Thank you ladies for praying for my recovery and for my baby boy. I am so delighted in him! God is so kind to me to give me such a sweet blessing. I am also blessed with family to help me while I am healing. Our God is so good.
God bless you all today! ❤️
COLLEEN DEVEAU – Thank you for the beautiful prayer.
Oh I want to honor you today, Lord. Thoughts, actions, words. All of it.
Love without hypocrisy. I had to think on that one a bit. In my NIV commentary it says “sincere love” – true love, not pretense. The love Paul speaks of here is not mere emotion but love in action.
I struggle with the word love, weirdly enough, because of the situation with my daughter. We love her so much, but can’t support or condone her lifestyle, and so even though we feel like it is loving to be truthful to her, she sees it as hate. I’m thankful that there is so much written about love in the Bible and will continue to ask the HS to make true, sincere love clear to me. I seek God’s direction always in how to handle this most hurtful and difficult situation with my daughter and her partner.
GRAMSIESUE – I also wonder will I ever get it right..
LISA Z – I’m a smarty pants too often…
HEIDI – Tattoo on you eyeballs, lol!
TAYLOR – So good to see you back! I was just thinking about you the other day.
COLLEEN DEVEAU – thank you for your words.
I feel like I need to print out Romans 12:9-18 and put it where I will see it daily. We read, but how quickly we forget what God asks of us. It’s amazing how strong the flesh can be. Cling to Him and let go of every thing else.
Oh Lord give me the grace to hold on to you and things that matters to you, thank you Abba Father.
I love this reminder of choosing daily who I will serve! It sounds so easy but there is always a struggle with our selfish nature. That is why we must constantly guard our hearts and minds!