Love and Humility, Part 4

By Jerolyn Bogear

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Romans 12:11

Zeal is not a word we use much in our present-day language. The definition for zeal is: "fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence; ardor." Desire is "a strong want;" diligence is "never stopping till you get the object of your desire."

Fervor is another unusual word. It means: "Intense heat."

So according to this verse, we are never to stop diligently pursuing the desire of our heart (the Father) and to maintain a spiritually intense heat in the process of serving our Lord.

In our instant gratification, short-term society, we have a really hard time with long-term commitments. Often we become tired or bored and take our eyes off the goal. If it takes too long to get to the goal, it just doesn't seem to be worth it. Too many other things in our life can be achieved quickly and with less effort..... But those things are empty and worthless.

Serving the Lord -- done with passion for Him and accomplished through His strength -- is the only worthwhile thing we will ever do on this earth. The Master has called us to fight and work and serve and love. Are we going to get tired? Yes. Are there going to be disappointments along the way? Yes. But our goal is not in this life, but the next. We must press on and fight the good fight.

Then Paul uses verses 12-21 to tell us just how to serve the Lord. We serve Him through joy, patience, prayer. We help the needy. We treat our enemies different than the world. We laugh with the happy, and cry with those who are sad. We keep the peace. We live and love in humility.

So march on with zeal and fervor. Never back down from your calling -- a servant of the Almighty!

Love and Humility, Part 3

by Jerolyn Bogear

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. ~Romans 12:10

When looking up the Greek meaning for "devoted," it is not just a loyalty or friendly kind of action. Rather, a devoted love is like the love of a parent/child or a husband/wife. It is being devoted to one another to the point of sacrifice.

Christ demonstrated his sacrificial love in the greatest form possible and he did it for friend and enemy. How then can we be devoted to one another in our lives on a day-to-day basis? What are our sacrifices?

Probably the greatest sacrifice we can without actually dying is of our time. The most important one is taking the time to pray for one another. Lifting each other up to the Father -- standing in one another's stead petitioning His grace, mercy and guidance for that person. I could ask nothing greater of those who care for me.

But then we can perform acts of devotion in a physical way -- a phone call, and note, running an errand, standing by them in their grief or celebration, offering a smile, a word of support, a listening ear, praying together, sharing God's revelations. Are we taking the time to offer these acts of love?

We can look at this backward too. Devotion and honoring others above ourselves may be through an act of receiving love. It takes humility to let others know we are struggling and need help. Receiving help demonstrates that you love those giving it.