The Marks of a Christian: Thoughts on Romans 12:9-21

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

We should not be insincere in our love, expecting much and giving little. Hating what is evil and clinging to what is good seems easy, but it’s hard to recognize evil for what it truly is when it often wears a mask that seems so flawless. Good is transparent, not hiding anything, but many times we judge its transparency because we are uncomfortable with it. We want the image of perfection not realizing that it is merely a mask hiding the face of evil.

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

Love one another as you do your own family. In the same way that you serve and give to the Lord, you should serve and give to others, making it a lifestyle rather than an occasional act of goodness. Rejoice in the hope that we have as Christians: the hope of resurrection and new life in Christ; life that is restored to its original condition which is holy and blameless! Be patient in times of trial keeping this very hope in mind. Remain in prayer and provide for all of the needs of your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

This simple statement has so many implications that we do not always want to recognize. To actually follow through with this requires the ultimate humility and selflessness. Rather than focusing on what you do or do not deserve versus what they do or do not deserve you are thinking about what Christ says about how you should treat them no matter what anyone deserves. I think that it is the hardest thing for us to put aside our ‘rights’ for the sake of following the way of Christ.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

We are to be of the same mind and that mind is not to be focused on the things the world tells us it should be: money, houses, cars, jobs, status, power, privilege. But, we are to associate with the humble, the hurting, the sick, the weak, the poor, those who are considered to be lepers to this American Dream that we all pursue. Those are the ones we are supposed to associate ourselves with, not the rich and mighty, the strong and the powerful. We need to humble ourselves to a servant hood that acts rather than boasting in an intellect that merely speaks. Our hands should be dirty with love, selflessness, and compassion. Our opinions mean very little to those in need.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” says the Lord. Therefore If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Do we follow this in action and in thought? Do our spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and political beliefs truly reflect this teaching? Repay NO ONE evil for evil: does Christ not teach us to no longer say an eye for an eye, but to turn our cheeks? Have regard for good things in the sight of ALL men: if we truly followed this statement we would not dehumanize people the way we do so often; people would be thought of as human beings who are fallen and need grace and forgiveness rather than just being “the enemy”. We are NOT to avenge ourselves because vengeance belongs to the Lord: what does this say about the death penalty? It definitely makes you re-think what you believe concerning things like that and why you believe them. Why do people still say things like, “We need to just bomb the entire Middle East”? How can we say things like that and claim to worship the God who told us to feed and clothe our enemies? Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good: this has probably always been easy to most of us because of our clear cut definitions of good and evil, I mean, we may not be perfect but we would certainly never do or support anything that is evil. It’s such a strong word that we tend to push it aside because in our minds we feel that we could never stoop to something low enough to be called evil, but Scripture makes it clear that there is the way of Christ, which is good, and the way of the world, which is evil. If the way of Christ is outlined out for us with words such as love, patience, serving, humility, peace, goodness, kindness, giving, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy, then anything other than that would have to be considered the way of the world. We will be held accountable for our ignorance concerning the way we love (or do not love) others. We need to think about Christ’s mission above our own and learn to live like we have experienced the love of Christ in our lives.