How to Walk in Love
We are called to be one in Christ…but we are not succeeding very well, are we? Living in unity seems like a balancing act sometimes. How can we who are so different live in harmony? How can we respect everyone and allow each other freedom in Christ? These are the questions I’ve been mulling over lately. Blessedly I learned five things about how to walk in love from Romans 14:13-23.
1) We need to stop criticizing at once. Everyone we meet is a precious gem of God for whom Christ died. We also need to proceed cautiously. Everyone we meet has his/her own set of difficulties, we are not to make them worse. Because everyone we meet is unique. We are not to decide what’s right for each other. That’s God’s job.
Forget about deciding what’s right for each other. Here’s what you need to be concerned about: that you don’t get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is.(Romans 14:13, MSG)
2) Walking in love means we live by the standard of love toward each other. If we hurt others, we are not conducting ourselves according to God’s will. We are called to live in love, breath in love, and share in love. Love is our job.
But if your brother is being pained or his feelings hurt or if he is being injured by what you eat, [then] you are no longer walking in love. [You have ceased to be living and conducting yourself by the standard of love toward him.] Do not let what you eat hurt or cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died! (Romans 14:15, AMP)
3) The Kingdom of God is about experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit here and now. And that’s why walking in love is possible. When we abide in the Holy Spirit, we can be living a life of love.
For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17, NLT)
4) We are to aim for mutual upbuilding in Christ. We are called to seek harmony among us. This does not happen by accident, we need to be intentional about this. We need to pursue first of all Christ and then peace among believers.
So let us then definitely aim for and eagerly pursue what makes for harmony and for mutual upbuilding (edification and development) of one another. (Romans 14:19, AMP)
5) We also need to put our beliefs in practice. We need to walk the talk, as the saying goes. Our lives need to be consistent with our beliefs. Then we are truly walking in love and faith. Then we are truly enhancing harmony around us.
If the way you live isn’t consistent with what you believe, then it’s wrong. (Romans 14:23, MSG)
The only way anyone of us can be acceptable to God is by grace through faith in Jesus. It’s all grace. So let’s embrace it and share it in abundance. Just the way we receive it ourselves.
Then we are truly walking in love.
Then we are living in unity.
Then we are one in Christ.
Gracious God,
We so need you.
We can’t manage on our own.
Pour out more grace, Lord!
Pour out more love, Lord!
Send your Holy Spirit, Lord!
Show us what it means to live in unity.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Q4U: Do you think living in unity is a balancing act? Do you know how to walk in love?
Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you dare to stop criticizing and pass on love instead!
* [As you might have noticed, I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations and love comparing them. I have started linking the Bible verses to Biblegateway.com so you can easily read (and compare) them in the different versions I’ve used while preparing each post.].
Photo courtesy of Matt Ansley, design by Mari-Anna Stålnacke. This post has previously been published in 2013. Linking up today withDance with Jesus, Faith-filled Fridays, Five Minute Friday.
8 thoughts on “How to Walk in Love”
Stopping by from FMF. Thanks for sharing your insights. A good reminder especially for today.It seems our society is more concerned about being free to say and do whatever moves them in an inkling, but there has been little consideration for others these day. This is a good reminder to put others before ourselves. I like that you included different translations. Blessings and peace to you!
Thanks for stopping by, Leigh. Sadly it is true: we think less of others and more of ourselves. Only when we live and love in Christ, we are able to put others first. Blessings to you!
I definitely think unity is a balancing act. When it comes to loving those that are different from us we definitely have to be grace-filled. I watched a video called the Compelling Love Documentary about a year ago. The documentary had nothing to do with what you’re talking about here, but it did talk about not having to be “tolerant” or “intolerant” of others. Instead the focus was on listening to others, hearing their stories, and practicing a Christ-like love. I think one thing that helps us love others is just being willing to step back and listen. Such a hard task in our fast-paced world!
Oh, yes. Listening is the key to any relationship. Thanks for sharing, Jessica! I appreciate it. Blessings upon blessings!
Such a wonderfully considered post. And one I so appreciated reading today. Thank you. Helen {A FMF friend from http://www.iwillbloom.wordpress.com}
Thank you for visiting and your kind comments. God bless you, Helen!
Now more than ever, Mari-Anna!
I think so too, Susan. Thanks so much! Abundant blessings to you, sis!