The Fruit of the Spirit: LoveSample

Love for Real

Paul begins with the practical application of theology in the first 11 chapters of Romans. In chapter 12, verse 9, he speaks about not pretending to love.

In my mission work, I have had many people on my team who were harder to love, and I often went through the motions of loving them. This meant that when I was with them, I was kind, but as soon as they left the room, I dropped a sigh of relief that they were gone and hoped they would never return.

During these moments, I was doing what Paul warns us about in this verse. The King James Version says this in verse 9, “Let love be without dissimulation or hypocrisy.” This means that our thoughts, feelings, or character are concealed. We are pretending to love the people, but there is no love within us. We show the correct behavior, but our hearts are far from it. When seeing this, we know that our behavior should reflect our hearts. The question of loving does not start with our behavior; it begins with the heart.

In 2 Thessalonians 3:5, Paul says, “May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.”

To love for real, we need to turn this verse into prayer so that our hearts fully understand and express the love of God.

Prayer:
Father, I know that I cannot love like you without your Spirit in me. I ask you to lead my heart in completely understanding and expressing your love. I want my behavior to be an authentic expression of your love.