Glory to God! Greetings to all in the matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A hearty welcome back to our SftW meditation site for a fresh selection of Scripture passage and a note of reflection that will boost us spiritually. As we are about to begin our meditation, let us pause for a moment to thank the Lord God Almighty for His goodness and faithfulness in our lives so far.  Also, pray that His favor will rest upon us for the rest of our life on earth. It is because of His love and faithfulness that we are alive and not consumed (Lamentations 3:22). Many people across the world, including the so-called followers of Christ, think that it is because of their ability and resources and worldly possessions (which are, of course, given by the Lord God) that they are alive and blessed in this world. However, whether one accepts it or not, it is the fact that all of creation, including mankind – both godly and ungodly – succeeds in life because of the never-ending grace and compassion of the Lord God Almighty. In fact, because of God’s grace and mercy towards us, we are all blessed the way we are blessed and still alive. King David who experienced God’s favor upon his life praised God, saying:

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Psalm 103:1-5)

David praised the Lord God Almighty and thanked Him for several reasons. From the passage of Psalm 103:1-5, we can understand that he praised and thanked the Lord for the forgiveness of sins (v.3a); for healing him and giving good health (v.3b); for sparing his life by saving him from harm and dangers (v.4a); for His love, compassion, kindness, and tender mercies towards him (v.4b); for satisfying him with good things in life (v.5a); for providing him with abundant provisions in life (v.5b); and for keeping him strong and active even as years pass by (v.5c). These are the things actually we need in our life in order to be blessed in Christ Jesus. At the same time, these are the things a vast majority of people, including many of the so-called followers of Christ, ignore the most in life in the middle of hustling and bustling to survive.

The Lord has blessed us with an instructional Scripture passage for our SftW meditation, which is taken from the Epistle to the Romans 12:9-13 (shown above). Here, we can see that Apostle Paul is urging the believers in Rome [as the faithful followers of Christ] to express their love for God and for one another in and through their word and deed as they fellowship with God and with one another. The entire Biblical revelation that starts from the first book of Genesis to the last book of Revelation instructs the people of God to love the Lord their God with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their mind and with all their strength (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27a) and love their neighbor as themselves, which means love one another (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27b; Galatians 5:14). Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another (John 13:34) because love comes from God (1 John 4:7a) as God is love (1 John 4:8, 16) and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7b). Without putting into practice the love that we experience from God as well as from others, it is impossible to live a meaningful life as the followers of Christ. In fact, love is the holding-together-factor between God and humanity as well as between one another. Apostle Paul who personally experienced the width and length and height and depth of the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:18) through his momentary encounter with the glorified Christ Jesus and through his ongoing fellowship with Him (Acts 9:1-20), urges the believers in Rome to grow in their love for God and for one another as they grow in the Lord.

The key things we need to be mindful out of this Scripture passage (Romans 12:9-13) are:

• • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another needs to be genuine in its nature (v.9a; also refer to Ephesians 5:9)
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another needs to be active and effective and last for the rest of our life (v.9b)
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another needs to be sacrificial the way Jesus Christ sacrificed all His positions and possessions and privileges in heaven and came down into the world He created. He lived as one who owns nothing in this world and served His people faithfully and saved us from eternal condemnation by sacrificing His very life and gave us all an abundant life and promised us eternal life hereafter, as it is mentioned live a life of love [or elsewhere it is said: walk in the way of love], just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (v.9b-10; also refer to Ephesians 5:2)
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another needs to be without any misleading or deceitfulness (v.10a; also refer to Ephesians 5:3-5)
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another needs to be sincere and pure and, therefore, we need to remove all kinds of ungodliness like obscenity, foolish talk, coarse joking, or any other form of evil, and so on, while holding on to a pure and righteous lifestyle (v.11a).
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another needs to expressed externally through our words and deeds (v.11b)
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another needs to be reflected through steadfast faith and hope in the Lord (v.11c)
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another needs to accompany our service to God and one another (v.11d)
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another ought to bring joy to our faith-life (v.12a)
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another ought to help us to withstand all the trials and troubles that we come across our faith-life (v.12b)
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another ought to lead us to spend time before God and interceding for others (v.12c)
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another ought to be an example of sharing one’s material and spiritual blessings with people who are lacking in life (v.133a)
  • As the faithful followers of Christ, our love for God and one another must lead us to practice hospitality (v.13b)

As the faithful followers of Christ, we need to show the world and our fellow believers in the church the meaning of true love (that is, the love that is derived from God, the source of life) in and through our words and deeds because our words and actions reveal our true identity in the Lord, which defines who we actually are. That is why Apostle Paul, wrote to the believers in Ephesus to be careful and wise in our dealings with God, with our fellow-believers, and with the people of this world (godly or ungodly). Paul wrote:

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:15-20)

Let us continue to read, analyze, and meditate on the Scripture passage we chose for our meditation, that is Romans 12:9-13, in order to understand what spiritual lessons God wants us to learn from it. In addition, let us read a few more verses from the same chapter, that is vs 14-21. Thus, we will be focusing on Romans 12:9-21 just to understand the spiritual lessons God wants us to know from it.

• • Love must be sincere (12:9a)
  • Hate what is evil (12:9b)
  • Cling to what is good (12:9c)
  • Be devoted to one another in love (12:10a)
  • Honor one another above yourselves (12:10b)
  • Never be lacking in zeal jus as we serve the Lord (12:11a)
  • Keep spiritual fervor while serving the Lord (12:11b)
  • Be joyful in hope (12:12a)
  • Be patient in affliction (12:12b)
  • Be faithful in prayer (12:12c)
  • Share with the Lord’s people who are in need (12:13a)
  • Practice hospitality as we serve the Lord (12:13b)
  • Bless those who persecute you (12:14a)
  • Bless those who hurt you and do not curse (12:14b)
  • Rejoice with those who rejoice (12:15a)
  • Mourn with those who mourn (12:15b)
  • Live in harmony with one another (12:16a)
  • Do not be proud (12:16b)
  • Be willing to associate with people of low position (12:16c)
  • Do not be conceited (12:16d)
  • Do not repay anyone evil for evil (12:17a)
  • Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone (12:17b)
  • Try our best to live at peace with everyone (12:18)
  • Do not take revenge (12;19a)
  • Leave room for God’s wrath (12:19b)
  • It is in God’s hands and authority to avenge or repay (12:19c)
  • Let God take care of your situation or matter (12:19d)
  • If your enemy is hungry, feed him (12:20a)
  • If your enemy is thirsty, give him something to drink (12:20b)
  • In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head (12:20c)
  • Do not be overcome by evil (12:21a)
  • Overcome evil with good (12:21b)

Dear friends in the Lord, in the light of the Scripture passage and our meditation, let us focus on doing what is good in addition to loving God and others from the depth of our heart. Let us honor and value others more than ourselves and with due respect. Let us serve the Lord unconditionally by fanning spiritual fervor. Let us show the world that we are the followers of Christ not just for namesake but sincerely. As we wind up the SftW meditation this week, let us love God and love one another with a sincere heart, share our blessings with others and practice hospitality. May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!