Romans 12: Living Life Study 14: Go! Love! Really Love!
v9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.

To have a gift or gifts, such as those Paul lists here, is a sign of God’s love for you! Therefore you are to love others – all others. If you are doing it after God’s own interests and the welfare of other people then you really do love others. Really love them! People can smell out fake love in an instant! If you are doing things for your own interest and welfare, and patronising towards others or as a means to manipulate them, then that is a fake love.

Why do you do what you do for God and for other people? Is it because you are driven by your love for God and love for others? This is love for others without pretence or hypocrisy. That is real love! If it is for any other reason, then it is not real love. That includes loving those who wouldn’t naturally be the target of your love - including those who hate you and those who have done you wrong. To love only those who love us, is what those outside the church expect as normal behaviour. But as Christian Disciples, we are to do more and to be seen to love more than any other people! That can be very hard to do. But if we use the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, then we can do it. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you and He will.

How is the invisible God seen? God is seen through Christian Disciples showing love for other people. If the Church was to be seen as loving others and loving their local community, the Gospel message, the story of God’s love, would have an enormous impact. The Christian Disciple is to be so filled and magnetized with God’s love and grace, that it is a magnetic attraction to others to the majestic goodness of the awesome God that they serve and obey. Our motive for all things is to be love. That includes gently restoring people into living a life worthy of following God if they are a Christian Disciple. There can be no excuse for sin in the life of those who claim to follow Jesus Christ.

How and in what way do we love – love God and love others? That is what Paul goes on to say! Go and love!

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