Promises: Live Loved - Romans 12:9-10

As children of God we are created to live in the promises God made to His creation.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. (Hebrews 6:16-18 NLT)

Lesson Focus: Live Loved

“God’s love does not hinge on yours.  The abundance of your love does not increase his. The lack of your love does not diminish his.  Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it.  What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:

“The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!  It was simply because the LORD loves you.”  (Deut. 7:7-8 NLT)

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so. He loves you when you don’t feel lovely. He loves you when no one else loves you.  Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you.  Always.  No matter what.” – Max Lucado

What keeps us from loving each other like that?
Human relationships generally flow in a send and receive pattern. When we live inside our own emotions we damage this process. We send out feelings of love to someone and expect a certain reaction, if they don’t meet our expectations we cut off the flow. That’s why it confuses people so much when the opposite emotional transaction happens. Someone says something hurtful to us and we respond with unexpected kindness and understanding. Believe it, or not, unconditional love is how we were created to react.

The Apostle Paul explains this gifting and the way to live loved. [All of Romans 12 in the New Living version for discussion]

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

[living in God’s promises makes the following possible]

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

   “I will take revenge;

I will pay them back,”

      says the Lord.

Instead,

   “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.

      If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

   In doing this, you will heap

      burning coals of shame on their heads.”

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

What do these principles look like in your life?

God has also promised to equip us to love like this.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. (Galatians 5:16-26 NLT)

Promises Kept: Relax, loosen the grip you have on life and let the Holy Spirit lead. We were created to dance, but not to lead. “Part of the joy of dancing is conversation. Trouble is, some men can't talk and dance at the same time.” – Ginger Rogers. Living loved will make you light on your feet. “All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” (1 John 4:15-16) That's a promise.