From Romans 12:
Never pride yourself on being better than you really are.
Think of yourself dispassionately.
When you give, you should give generously.
If you are put in charge, you must be conscientious.
If you do works of mercy, let it be because you enjoy doing them.
Love without any pretense.
Avoid what is evil; stick to what is good.
Let your feelings of deep affection for one another come to expression.
Regard others as more important than yourself.
In the service of the Lord, work not half-heartedly but with conscientiousness and an eager spirit.
Be joyful.
Persevere in hardship.
Keep praying regularly.
Share with any of God's holy people who are in need.
Look for opportunities to be hospitable.
Bless your persecutors; never curse them, bless them.
Rejoice with others when they rejoice.
Be sad with those in sorrow.
Give the same consideration to all.
Pay no regard to social standing.
Meet humble people on their own terms.
Do not congratulate yourself on your own wisdom.
Never pay back evil with evil.
To the utmost of your ability, be at peace with everyone.
Never try to get revenge.
If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat; if thirsty, something to drink.
Do not be mastered by evil, but master evil with good.
In my own life, I feel that these are some of the most difficult things to live out, but also some of the absolute most important. What if I were to truly take these instructions from Paul seriously? How would my life be different?
It feels so natural to hate those who hate us, doesn't it? And to look for ways to protect ourselves and get revenge. It feels natural to consider a person's social standing and make judgments and decisions based on it. It feels natural to become so absorbed in our own life that we don't notice when others are rejoicing or weeping. It feels natural to want to pay back evil for evil. It feels natural to desire power. It feels natural to let our relationships strain, rather than to lay down our agenda, gather up humility, and seek peace and reconciliation.
Last fall in our chapel services we went through a phrase from The Lord's Prayer each week. Since then, I have been struck by many parts of the prayer, one of them being "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven." In my experience, this prayer has been avoided because we haven't been quite sure what to do with the phrase--hasn't the kingdom already come? Why should we continue praying that prayer? It seems to me that yes, the kingdom has come and exists in the hearts of his followers (Luke 17), but also that through his followers, the kingdom continues to come. The will of God is to make all things right; to reconcile all things to himself; to bring all things together through the redemptive work of Christ. This is as it is in heaven. When Jesus teaches his disciples to pray that the Kingdom of God would come, and God's will would be done on earth as in heaven, I believe that he's teaching them to look for ways to continue bringing the Kingdom of God right here on earth. They would be the hands and feet that would help usher in new hope and healing and new life to the people around them. And this was not just a promise of new life in heaven, but new life in that moment. Kingdom life. Selflessness. Goodness. Mercy. Love. Peace. Healing. Forgiveness. Reconciliation. Patience. If we are not careful, we can over-spiritualize the Kingdom existing in our hearts, while people around us are hungry, angry, addicted, lonely, afraid. But as Christians, we must remember that the Kingdom continues to come in very tangible, familiar ways, and Jesus calls us to be a part of it all. Kingdom life is not just what we have to look forward to. It has come, and it is coming. Look around you; God is doing his work of reconciliation and restoration at this very moment. It's his passion. It's beautiful.
The things Paul describes in Romans 12 are not natural for us. But I get chills as I imagine my life transformed by the spirit of Christ, being able to think of myself dispassionately; to give food and drink to the person who desires to harm me; to come outside of myself and rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep; to persevere in hardship; to give generously; to love with no agenda; to eagerly desire peace.
As people who profess Christ as our King, I pray that we can allow his peace and love to reign in our hearts so that the Kingdom of God on earth (as is so beautifully described in Romans 12) would truly come.
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