Checklist or Love?

“Marks of the True Christian

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.  Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:9-15)

When you first read this passage, especially with a header like, “Marks of the True Christian”, you may think it is a checklist; especially for you “check the box” type of personalities. If so, it may look something like this:

Let’s see, “Love one another with brotherly affection.”  I played a prank on our guitarist at church.  Something I would totally do to my brother. Check! 

“Outdo one another in showing honor”. I sent a card and a gift. Check!

“Do not be slothful in zeal”, Hm..zeal means great energy or enthusiasm for a cause.  Oh yeah, I can check that one off!  I was very zealous in regard to the homemade apple crisp my daughter made. 

“be fervent in spirit”. Well, this one needs some work.  Can’t say I have a passionate intensity towards spiritual things all the time.  Work harder, Lisa!

“Serve the Lord”.  Let’s see…I’m on the worship band, am church secretary, and try to work in the produce department of our local store as if I am tending the Lord’s garden, so, check! 

“Rejoice in hope”.  Hope is good!  I rejoice in it!  Check!

“be patient in tribulation”.  Hm…this one is a hard one.  Sometimes.  As long as the tribulation doesn’t last more than my patience.  Check?

“be constant in prayer”.  Oh yeah.  I need all the help I can get.  Check!

“Contribute to the needs of the saints”.  I tithe.  Bake the occasional casserole for someone. Give things away.  Check!

“seek to show hospitality” I let people come to my house on occasion; when it’s convenient; when the house is clean, and the planets are aligned correctly. Check?

“Bless those who persecute you” With gritted teeth at times… Check?

“Rejoice with those who rejoice” I love a good happy dance!  Check!

“weep with those who weep” It just takes one tear in the eye of another and I am undone!  Check!

Now, I know that each one of those things is much more than my responses reflected.  And when I really meditated on each one, I realized that I sometimes fall very short and I my initial response was to tell myself to try harder.  Do better.  Figure this out.  However, the list is not the main point.  The very first verse says, “Let love be genuine, abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” 

Love.  Love is the basis for the list that follows.  If we focus on loving with a genuine love, all those “marks” will be the outpouring; the fruit.  When we focus on holding fast to God and loving Him with our whole being, loving what He loves, we will naturally love one another, show honor, be zealous and fervent. Everything we do will be with a heart of service to the Lord.  We won’t be able to stop from rejoicing in the hope He has given us. Tribulation will do its work in us while we wait because we know God has our best interests at heart.  We will want to be in constant communication with Him, contribute to His cause, and be a people who bless, rejoice, and weep together.

So, fellow siblings in Christ, don’t focus on the “list” or the “marks” as something you check off or, like me, fret and feel overwhelmed with deficiency, but focus on loving God well.  A love that is authentic and centered on Him so that the “marks” will be evident to all around us.

There needs to be only one thing on that checklist and that is, “Let love be genuine.”  Check?

Learning to love genuinely with you today,

Lisa