Nougat 7

Hate the sin, but love the sinner? Erm, doable, in light of today’s Holy Nougat

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬, ‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

At the end of a fairly brief discourse on spiritual gifts, the command to genuinely love the other is emphasized. And, in the Corinthian context, Love is established as The Ultimate Spiritual Gift. Love is also the Fruit of God’s Spirit (scholars are divided on whether the Fruit is a melange of 9 or if Love comprises the 8, however we can agree that Love is paramount in the Fruit), underscoring Love as integral to our Faith.

And siblings, Love is more than a woozy Valentine’s Day feeling. It is a choice and a commitment. Hence Jesus’ invitation in John 3, to accept a radical Love that leads to eternal life. We can’t die again for the entire world, Jesus made the permanent blood-covenant. Our reflection of this irrevocable blood-covenant is in our willingness to love others. The unlovely, the unpleasant, the uncared-for, and the unremembered. Especially the one who we’d least like to love. (I can just hear God replying, yes I know – especially So & So). That’s when we work on Loving while hating the evil.

Like the Love of Jesus, our Love is to encompass The World. Beyond our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria – wherever those are for us. We may yearn to be in the uttermost part of the world, but find ourselves called to love the Samaritans in this season. We might find it easy to live with and love our families and friends, but God’s saying we can’t stop there. It must extend to those unlike us, for Christ’s sake!

And that’s when we find Love is Work! Hard, sometimes stress-inducing work. It may require travailing beyond ourselves on someone’s behalf, being the broker of hope to someone who’s experiencing a feeling of hopelessness. And sometimes, that’s a great sacrifice. But, we keep praying and pressing, serving the Lord with gladness (Psalm 100), ie enthusiasm (Romans 12). Of course, there are days … (oh yes there are Dayz!), but we have The Source of All Love to recharge us in those moments.

Love is a gift and fruit of God’s Spirit. Love is the work of bearing witness to the Greatest Love. And Love is manifested as service to God.

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May all we seek be found in Christ