Together in Christ: 'Genuine Affection' — Romans 12:9-10

Sometimes, I find making a list of to-do items very helpful in completing the day's tasks. While reducing a passage of the Scriptures to a to-do list can be dangerous, this discipline can open my eyes to what God truly wants me to do. In our time, the concept of love has become confused and abstract, so sharing real love with others feels a bit elusive. Plus, much that is called love today has disconnected our expressions of love from God's definitions of loving behavior. Some supposed expressions of love that are definitely contrary to God's kind of genuine love are:

• Enabling sinful behaviors just so we can appear nice.
• Just sharing sweet sentiments that never lead to loving actions.
• Doing anything to control or manipulate another, including apparently-kind deeds and personal attention when they are used to control or manipulate.

In contrast, in today's verses about Christian love, Paul teaches us that God's way of loving one another involves:

• Demonstrating genuine love and affection through beneficial actions toward others.
• Hating what is wrong in others' lives while still loving them.
• Recognizing and appreciating the good in others as we fellowship with them and demonstrate love to them.
• Finding joyful delight in honoring others as a vital part of our Christian fellowship.

While sharing "likes" and "friending" people on social media can be important and encouraging to others, genuine, face-to-face fellowship and entering into a loving relationship with brothers and sisters in Christ are crucial. We must not let our love for others become artificial, being involved only from a safe and detachable distance. Zoom meetings can be helpful during temporary separation by geographical distance and social distancing, but Christian love has to be based on both a physical and spiritual personal connection. This kind of connection requires a personal investment in and sacrifices for another because of Jesus. Why? Because genuine relationships in Jesus are rooted in a host of "one anothering" behaviors - loving actions that involve up-close and personal attention, care, affirmation, sacrifice, and kindness. ^[1]