Romans 12:9
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.”
Many people give speeches about love, write poems about love, and create stories about love. So why do we have such a lack of love? I think it is because we fail to properly understand the God-given pattern for love.
What is often defined as love is how it makes ME feel. The emphasis is on our own feelings. It is what makes ME feel warm and fuzzy. It is what makes ME feel nurtured and admired. That, my dear friend, is hypocritical love!
Many of us have heard the humorous anecdote about the suitor who writes a note to his sweetheart professing how deep his love is for her … he would climb the highest mountain for her … he would swim the widest river for her, etc. Then the arduous suitor concludes his love note by saying that he would see his true love on Saturday … IF it doesn’t rain. Ooops! That is hypocritical love.
The writer of Romans says to have love that is not selfish or self-seeking. He urges us to abhor what is evil and cling to what is good. When we follow that pattern in our love relationships, we will begin to discover TRUE LOVE!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil