Welcome to Day 28 of the 40Days of Return. Today I like to point your attention to two keywords that the scriptures underscore in speaking about what your relationship with others, especially in the household of faith, should look like.
The scripture says in Romans 12:10: Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. The two keywords are contained in that scripture you just read: devotion and honor.
Devotion: Enthusiastic Commitment to Others
God acknowledges the place of mutuality in human relationships, particularly in our demonstration of love. The dictionary describes devotion as ‘love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause’.
The Passion Translation renders Romans 12:10 as: ‘Be devoted to tenderly loving your fellow believers as members of one family’. Try to outdo yourselves in respect and honor of one another.
Devotion signifies passion, commitment, and enthusiasm. As you can see, God expects you to be passionate, committed, and enthusiastic about your love for believers and other children of God, irrespective of race, ethnicity, denomination, social status, individual differences, political affinity, or views, or whatsoever it is.
God is aware of our differences, yet His standard for you and me is nothing short of being enthusiastic about your relationship with other fellow disciples of Christ Jesus. Jesus says to his disciples in John 13:35: Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
To be devoted to ‘one another’ means it should be a responsibility of everyone in the body of Christ to show devotion in their love to other believers. That means you are expected not just to receive devotion but to first give devotion.
Honor: Having Great Respect for Others
The second keyword is Honor. The scripture says to ‘Honor one another above yourselves’. Honor means high respect; great esteem.
Honor signifies an attitude of the heart that comes from humility and gentleness. Humility is the lowliness of mind and gentleness is the quietness of spirit. These two spiritual qualities underscore your ability to honor others in the faith as the Lord expects.
The scripture is clear that the Lord expects you to have high respect and great esteem for others; esteeming others above yourself. Again, this is a mutual responsibility for everyone in the faith. You are expected not just to receive honor from others but to first give honor to others.
God expects you to outdo others in giving honor. You might not find it natural to do, particularly if you have not been properly instructed in the art of honoring others. The good news is that you can learn it.
You just need to see the need for it and be willing to develop your capacity to highly respect and greatly esteem others above yourself. You will have to be intentional about that, it does not come naturally.
It means a lot to God!
God respects those who value their relationship with other people. The scripture in fact says it is not possible to love God if we have not first love humans. The scripture says in 1 John 4:20: If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
I like you to think about those two keywords again – devotion and honor – how important are those two words to you? How essential are they to your faith walk? To what extent do you consider them valuable to your walk with God and relationship with other people?
Do you seek devotion and honor towards others as much as you seek position and personal comfort for yourself? What are your perceptions of these invaluable and godly qualities? How much are they worth or worthwhile to you?
The scripture says in Luke 16:15: But Jesus told them: You are always making yourselves look good, but God sees what is in your heart. The things that most people think are important are worthless as far as God is concerned.
Think about that!
