Love must be sincere.
Romans 12:9a NIV
The NIV labels Romans 12:9-21 as “Love in Action.” But you could just as easily see this as a summary of Christian ethics. This passage is filled with short exhortations, telling me how to live and love as a believer.
Paul starts off this section by telling us that love must be sincere. The Greek word translated here as love is agapē. This is the active love that God has for his people. And the love that we are to have for each other. It is a sacrificial love, most clearly demonstrated by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross on our behalf (1 John 4:10). And we are expected to follow his example (1 John 3:16). Agapē is not just an emotional feeling. It is an act of the will. It is choosing to act in love toward another person.
And this love is to be sincere. It is to be love that is genuine and without hypocrisy. It is not enough to say that we love each other. We need to actually love and care for each other, and do so sacrificially. John tells us to love, not with words, but with our actions (1 John 3:18).
What would our local communities of believers look like if we all truly loved each other? If we invested time and energy in each other’s lives? And if we put the needs of others ahead of our own? If, instead of going to church, we were the church Jesus died to produce?
