Title: Let There Be Peace / Topic: Living in Love

Today's Reading: Romans 9; Romans 10; Romans 11; Romans 12

Scripture: Romans 12:9-21 (excerpts)
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Observation: People long for peace on earth. We sing songs about it. We want everyone to just love each other and get along. These verses have the keys to being able to do that. They are not easy. If we want to live in love and peace with one another, we must consider others above ourselves (that means to put their interests first; be other-centered as opposed to self-centered). We must bless those who persecute us. That means no complaining to anyone else about how another person has wronged us, as well as praying for their well-being. We must be willing to associate with people from lower socio-economic groups without having a superior attitude toward them. We can't take revenge but must let God be the one who dispenses judgment. Our weapon against evil is doing what is good and right.

Application: Even following all of the practices above is no guarantee that all our relationships will be harmonious. Verse 18 makes that clear --- “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace...”.
In other words, I'm responsible to live by these words but others might choose not to and there is nothing I can do about their choices. It takes a lot of the power of the Spirit and prayer to be able to do these things. It is so tempting to speak of how others have wronged us or to take revenge in some way. But we are called to love in a way that is different from the way the world loves. We are called to a peace with one another that stands apart from typical human behavior. To continue to love someone who is unkind or disrespectful to you is difficult, but that is our calling.

Prayer: Father, I certainly have fallen short in obeying all these commands. But I repent, and I call on you to enable me by your Spirit to love beyond my own capacity. I resign as judge of others and put you alone in that place. I know I don't have to spend a lot of time with peple who don't love me or treat me as they ought to, but when I do, help me to bless them in every way possible no matter how they are responding to me. As far as it depends on me, may I live in peace with others.
This I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.