Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. How easy is it to rejoice in hope when all you see around you us darkness and death? Is is easy to find that ray of hope when life seems to always be against us? And patience in tribulation? Really we are suppose to endure hard times patiently? How does that work?
Well actually both of these are mare possible by the last line in the sentence- be constant in prayer. You see our hope and ray of salvation that we rejoice in and our ability to be patient in the tribulations of our life come from a grounding relationship with God and we do that by keeping the relationship alive through communication or prayer.
In fact that is how we can do all of the things listed in these verses that are counter cultural and not easy to do. We do them through the power of God in Jesus. We are able to do things we otherwise would not be able to do because of the power God gives us.
aSacredRebel 