Disponible en Español aqui
February 16
“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. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” -Romans 12:9-13, NIV
Any person who possesses the slightest spiritual and social sensitivity cannot help but feel an almost smothering depression settling over one’s soul as we look out upon the deteriorating conditions of the world around us. By almost any gauge, the consensus seems to be that we are passing through a perilous period that is unprecedented for its violence, racial animosity, decline of democracy, greed and hatred expressed in myriad forms. Many people who once beamed and bubbled with hope and talked exuberantly about a better day ahead have now toned down their rhetoric, adjusted the lenses of their premature optimism and begun to wonder if we will survive to face the future.
In a song from the pop charts of a generation ago, singers Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway melodiously mused around the musical question, “Where Is the Love?” And when we look at the fragmentation of our world and the hatred that we so vehemently express towards each other, we cannot help but wonder, “Where is the love?”
Where is the love we ought to have for God, for others and for ourselves? The Master told us that the greatest of all the commandments God left to us is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31 NIV).
People in touch with the life-preserving and soul-empowering force of love do not privately mutilate or publicly castigate themselves or each other. In this passage from Paul’s epistle to the Church at Rome, Paul tells us how we are to express our love in a practical way towards one another in our daily lives. He lists 10 ways by which this love ought to be expressed and it must be unconditional. Unconditional love is what God has for us. This love of which Paul speaks must be practiced toward each other whether or not we agree on certain issues or whether we’re of the same ethnicity or economic status. We love each other because we’re all God’s children and God loves us no matter our faults or failures.
Let us strive to love others as God loves us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank you for loving us enough to give your life for us. Help us to love others as you love us so that our world will be filled with your spirit as it is in heaven. Amen.
—James C. Perkins
Pastor Emeritus, Greater Christ Baptist Church
Detroit, Michigan
Love, Justice & Relationships
The 2024 Emmanuel McCall Lenten Devotional series is prepared by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship family and friends for the season of Lent. The McCall Lenten series features wonderful reflections on God’s Word, thought-provoking questions, prayers, art, music, noteworthy information and resources for action. Available in English and Spanish, this Lenten resource is intended for use by individuals, small groups and congregations.
Join us as we journey together through Lent reflecting on these devotions and their calls to pursue justice for all of God’s people.
This passage is originally found in the 2024 Emmanuel McCall Lenten Devotional series, prepared by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship family and friends. It is a project of love that is designed to be read during the season of Lent, which begins February 14, 2024. Register to receive the daily devotional here.