Let love be genuine. Romans 12:9
The words, “Let love be genuine,” imply that it is possible to discover something that looks and sounds like love, but turns out to be something else. What does genuine love look like?
Our culture has a very clear answer to that question: acceptance and affirmation. Our culture says, “If you really love me, you must accept and affirm me as I am. Don’t try to change me because, if you do that, you are not accepting me and therefore you do not love me.”
Our natural reaction is to say: “What else would love be?” And if we were all little paragons of virtue, a love that accepts and affirms would be entirely appropriate. But Jesus said our position is like sheep who are lost, patients who are sick, captives who are bound, or offenders who are under condemnation. God says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23).
If Jesus had embraced our culture’s definition of love, he would have said: “You’re lost, and I’ve come to affirm that. You are sick, and far be it from me to change it. You’ve been taken captive, and it’s certainly not for me to interfere. You’re under condemnation, and I accept that.”
Aren’t you glad Jesus never said, “I have come to affirm the lost”? He came to save the lost. He came to change something about us that was wrong and put it right. In his love, the lost are found, the captives are released, the sick are made well, and the condemned are fully pardoned.
Jesus Christ invites us to come to him. And when we come, he accepts us as we are, but, thank God, he never leaves us as we are!
How do you respond to this definition of love—acceptance and transformation?
