Romans 12:2-21 – “Love in Action”
Mealtimes at the Parks home have gotten significantly crazier in the last couple of years. As the girls have grown older and are no longer strapped in to their seats, and as they have learned how to express their culinary likes and dislikes, dinner is more chaotic and unpredictable than ever before.
One thing is predictable, however. Each day, we can count on the struggle over what will be eaten, and how much of it. You see, for my daughters, mealtimes are a means to an end – all that chicken, rice, veggies, bread, fruit… all that’s just an appetizer for the main course: DESSERT. And the question is nearly always raised: Just how much do I have to eat before I get a dessert?
The typical conversation goes something like this:
“Mama, can I have a treat now?”
“No, not yet. You still have to eat your carrots.”
“ALL my carrots?”
“Yes, all your carrots.”
Then they’ll piddle around and play, and then two or three minutes later, you hear again,
“Mama, can I have a treat now?”
“Have you eaten your carrots?”
“ALL my carrots?”
“Yes ALL your carrots.”
And on and on and on it goes until the realization finally sinks in – “I’m not going to get the good stuff unless I eat what they’re telling me to eat.”
Romans is so enjoyable to preach from, but we’ve been here a long time. It was nice to have a break, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to come back. I looked at the material ahead, and I see a few difficult things we have to face. So I wanted to ask God the same question…
“Do I need to preach ALL of Romans? Maybe I can skip a little bit here and there…”
But don’t worry, I won’t skip any of it. We’ve invested time into this, and we’re going to carry it through to the end! And more importantly, we’re just getting to the part where Paul moves from the theoretical and theological, to the practical.
What’s the Pattern?
Paul has been so organized up to this point: He’s followed an outline, and has stayed on course through the first 11 chapters, save for a couple of tangents here and there. It’s easy (if you’re looking) to follow Paul’s logic, and he expresses himself clearly and eloquently.
So what’s going on here? These passages seem like shotgun fire – the instructions he’s giving are all over the map. Now, all of a sudden, there’s no order. Here he’s talking about the church as a body, now he’s talking about being hospitable, then loving our enemies…
Maybe Paul’s following some Old Testament text? Maybe he’s talking about some specific situations in the Roman church?
I think the answer lies within the first two verses themselves. The passages may seem random… until we see them through the right lens. Putting on the right pair of glasses helps us to see things that weren’t clear before. In the same way, when we look in a certain way at what Paul’s saying here, the random begins to fall into line.
Let’s not forget that Paul has used that ever important word, “THEREFORE” in 12:1. Paul has not lost his mind. What he writes here is an outflow of the theology that came before. The correct lens to look through is this: Paul is showing us how love works in action – not as a theological concept, but as a reality.
Paul understands that God has created us to live in society, in relationship to one another. We don’t live in a bubble – we’re made to live in community. And if we are to live in community as followers of Jesus – whether it be the church community, or society at large – we must conduct ourselves in a certain way.
A Renewal of Our Minds
When Paul writes, “do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” he’s talking about a fundamental shift in thinking. The words transform and renew together do not imply merely “tweaking” our minds. Paul’s not talking about making some minor adjustments to our thought life – he’s talking about a whole new mental process, a new way of looking at the world.
12:3 gives us a clue to that transformed mind:
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
The last phrase is hard to understand until you read what follows, where Paul defines “measure of faith”:
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Paul says we should not be prideful, because God has given each of us a different gift to use in different ways – but it is GOD doing the work, not you and me.
Moreover, Paul is speaking from an entirely different starting place. Rather than thinking of HIMESLF first, Paul is thinking of GOD and of OTHERS first. He’s not saying, “Look how God has gifted ME,” he’s saying, “Look how God has distributed his gifts so freely among US.” He’s not thinking, “how can I do God’s work?” He’s thinking, “how can God do his work through US?”
This is a major change indeed. As human beings, we’re used to looking out for “Number One.” It’s the way we operate unless we consciously choose to do otherwise. Katrina hits, and people complain about gas prices – thinking of themselves. When the economy slides, we automatically think about our retirement accounts instead of the millions of people who were already in poverty – what must they be facing now?
Paul starts elsewhere – he insists that we begin with seeking God’s desires, then look to the needs of others. When we do that, Jesus promises that “all these things” will be added unto us.
If you think about it, this is the way God sees the world. God loves the world so much that he came down to our level and lived among us. He even died among us, for us, so that we could be reconciled to him. And even now, as Paul reminds us in Romans 8:28, God is constantly working for our good.
Make no mistake: God does not exist for our sake. He is not our servant or our magic genie – he does not seek our happiness or our whims and wishes, but our ultimate good. God looks at each of us through eyes of such love and compassion, that he has made OUR good his primary desire. And that is how he calls us to look at others.
Live in Harmony
So Paul is asking us to make a major shift in our perspective – to renew our minds and to be transformed. And this thought process is what determines our actions. So what follows from 12:4 onward is not about thinking, but about action. Let’s read on…
9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
So here, Paul is setting a high standard of conduct among Christians. He’s talking primarily about how we deal with each other in the church. Paul’s vocabulary is strong:
“Love must be without hypocrisy”
“HATE evil. CLING to good. Be DEVOTED to each other. HONOR each other above yourselves.”
“Rejoice in hope! Endure in suffering! Persevere in prayer!”
“If someone in the church wrongs you, BLESS THEM. If someone has a reason to celebrate, celebrate with them! If someone has a reason to weep, weep with them!”
And it’s all summed up in verse 16: “Live in harmony with one another.”
What a word to use – “harmony.” Any ensemble musician – someone who sings in a choir, or plays in an orchestra for instance – knows that the secret to harmony is more than just having the notes right. In order to perform music effectively in a group, you have to put the goals of the GROUP ahead of your OWN goals.
Ever listen to the Three Tenors? They did a beautiful job, of course. But when they tried to sing in harmony it wasn’t as beautiful as a choir would be. They were each trained to sing SOLO, not in harmony. So each was starting from a different standpoint – how can I SOUND GOOD, not how can WE SOUND GOOD?
Good choral singers operate differently. When you get used to singing in a choir, your first thoughts are not about how your voice sounds. The first things you’re doing are watching the director, then listening to the others singing around you. Once you do those things, you’ll find yourself fitting in without having to work hard at all!
Paul is saying that we have to shift our thought life – we have to “renew” our minds to look at things in a different way. Instead of looking out for our own needs in the church, how can we look to the will of God and the needs of others first?
This is hard to do, but it’s the source of so much anger and frustration among Christians. We look out for ourselves in most of the rest of our lives, so it’s only natural to do it here within these walls. But Paul says that in order for us to live as Christ intended, we have to make others’ good our primary desire.
At Peace with EVERYONE
Then Paul “goes to meddling” as we say. This isn’t just the rule for living inside the church – it’s the way we are to operate with EVERYONE.
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Come on, Paul. I mean, we are called to love each other and to be kind and patient here at church. But what about other people – what about strangers? What about Hispanics? What about the black folks that always look like they’re up to no good down on 4th Avenue?
“God, do I really have to love ALL those people?”
“Yes, all the people.”
“Even THEM?”
“Yes, even THEM.”
“Even the ones who hurt me?”
“Yes, ESPECIALLY the ones who hurt you.”
And how in the world can we do something like that? How can we love people who are so different from us that we don’t have any common ground to meet on? How can we love people halfway across the world who are hiding in caves, trying to figure out the next way they’re going to blow something up in the US? How can we love someone who is sitting on death row because he killed dozens of people in cold, calculated murders? How can we love someone who has abused little, innocent children?
When we’re looking through our eyes, we can’t. But when we’re looking through God’s eyes, we can.
And to love someone means to act for their good, just as God has done for us.
