Romans 12

⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^[c] Do not be conceited.

¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[d] says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”^[e]

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Every time you read a command in Scripture just like the chunk of verses above – there is always a reason why God commanded it. I love the commands of the Lord to put love into action but the difference between love in action that the world teaches and the love in action taught in Scripture is its root.

What do I mean? I was having a talk with a pastor from China a few months back and he said it is now common for people to embrace a different kind of Christianity. They embrace the morals without embracing the gospel.

It has produced a morality without God and it is very dangerous. Thus when we read the Bible we have to see the big picture if we want a genuine love in action and not just a list of dos and donts.

The only way to produce real love in action is to know that you are loved and accepted by God already. Once that is settled you are liberated and free to love others with Christ’s love and not your definition of love.

Great resource to read if you want to practice love in action: The Cause within You: Finding the One Great Thing You Were Created to Do in This World