Romans 12:9-10 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Paul continues his directions to the Romans Christians with short command statements. Each statement contains important words that could be looked up. Paul urges the Romans to have unhypocritical love, love that is genuine, authentic and does not hide behind false motives. Too often our love has some hidden motive to it, something that will benefit us and not the person. The type of love we are to have comes from God (1 John 4:7-8) and is unconditional. We must reject anything that is evil. Stay away from it. Don’t meddle with it. Don’t even get close. Run away! Rather, we should be attracted to what is good. We should seek the things that reflect God’s holy and good nature. Brotherly love is a different type of love that v. 9. It shows affection and friendliness. It is the type of love that one likes to be around. It is attractive and seeks to make any situation good. And finally, we can have a competition to see who can honor others the most. This is not to make someone proud, but to lift up those who are shamed by the world. The church ought to be a place of refuge and a place to gain strength. We do that by encouraging one another and lifting each other up. Every person in the church is important and ought to feel that he or she has a place.
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