Love with No Filter

Scripture: Romans 12: 9-12
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Observations:

Application:

This whole passage is full of applications, full of commands.  But the first sentence is the rationale for the rest of the passage.  Love must be sincere.  Love must be undisguised.  Love must have no filter.  And in order to show sincere love, we are called to do all of these other things…

• Cement ourselves to what is good.
• Show mutual love for each other… the kind of love that parents and their children have for each other.
• Rank other people above ourselves in importance.
• Keep our spiritual temperature at a boil.
• Serve.
• Rejoice with expectation of good.
• Persevere through stress.
• Be devoted to prayer.

These are the ways we love with no filter.  This is what true, sincere love looks like.  It seems impossible, doesn't it?  To be that devoted and selfless and fervent and hopeful?  Again, I'm so tempted to put on my "Jesus girl" mask here to accomplish these things.  I could probably fake most bullet points on that list, at least for a while.  But that first sentence-- love must be sincere-- reminds me that all this is impossible when I try to do it on my own.  True, sincere love comes from Christ in me.  The only way I can truly love like that is to let the love of the Lord overflow from me.  Because his love is relentless and sacrificial and passionate and sincere.  

Prayer:

Lord, you are awesome!  I praise you for who you are!  Jesus, thank you so much for showing me what sincere, unfiltered love looks like.  Help me to love like that.  I know I can only do that as a result of your love in me.  So overflow me with your love, Lord, that I love others that way.  In Jesus' name!  Amen!

Confident in this...