Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
- Romans 12:10
I've been thinking about this verse for some time now.
I’ve contemplated it, studied it, and read all about this verse. I know the context and the author, the intended audience… all the relevant things. But, as I sit here praying for God to help me convey some of its meaning, I'm convinced deep in my soul that what truly matters most is that I actually
Do what it says!
You see, when we memorize verses and learn about the concepts in them, it isn't only a mental exercise. In fact, these words don’t matter one tiny bit if they just stay in our minds and never make it down into our hearts and out into our hands. Am I right???
In other words, if this verse is going to matter at all in our lives, we are going to have to pull our heads out of the clouds and get up off of our hineys and actually live it out.
We already know full well what it means to be devoted to someone. Heck, it’s the thing we want most, isn’t it? Someone we can rely on to stick with us and love us through thick and thin? We know it in our minds and we want it desperately in our souls. Well, this verse flips that desire on its head. It says that the thing you so deeply desire is the very thing that you should give to someone else. To paraphrase, “You, yes you! Go love people with a constant, warm affection. Hold them in your thoughts and prayers. Reach out to them. Live out in real time what you say you feel. Share your life with them. Show them the kind of love God has shown you.”
This is what we're supposed to do with the words we memorize: live them out.
