We Will be Known by Our Love

Romans 12: 9-10, 21 (NRSV): We Will be Known by Our Love

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection  . . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Our world is in turmoil. Nuclear threats, hate speech, racism, misogyny, political unrest, and injustice alarm us through recent news feeds and Twitter trends. This context can create chaos and unrest in and among us. Panic, fear, and anxiety thrive when we focus on the heartbreak of the world. But as Christians, our focus is different.

In chapter 12 of Romans, Paul discusses the beauty of living a new life in Jesus Christ and the true marks of a Christian: We are people given the grace to love others beyond our human capacity. Humanity loves with conditions and a tendency toward self-interest. God, on the other hand, loves without condition; He loves with the outpouring of self for the sake of others. The best example is the cross: Jesus willingly took on the scourge, humiliation, torture, crucifixion, abandonment, ridicule, and, finally, agonizing death. This amazing love -- a love we cannot conceive without the Holy Spirit -- is the love of God.

Jesus’ love is genuine, rejects evil, holds fast to the good, loves all mutually, and defeats evil with good. We are all called to the same kind of love. The Greek word for this love is agápē: It is the highest form of love exemplified by Jesus on the cross. And as Jesus states in Matthew 16:24, being His disciple entails the cross: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” But it is a cross of love in the midst of a troubling world. Through our witness to the love of Jesus Christ, we can overcome the hate, meanness, self-centeredness, and insensitivity of the present world.  The Rev. Bishop Michael B. Curry gives a beautiful summary of this same point:

“This [is the] way of love that we as followers of Jesus . . . must never be ashamed of, must never be afraid of, must dare to be evangelists of. . . We need a brand of Christianity that is not hate filled, that is not mean, that is not insensitive, that is not self centered. We need a brand of Christianity that looks something like Jesus, that’s about love.” (Sermon to the 232nd Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut)

As we begin our new journey this September, I pray that we keep Paul’s words close to our hearts. They remind us of what Jesus taught His first disciples on the night of Holy Thursday: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35).

Have a blessed week!

Stan