一切都要憑著愛心而作
羅馬書十二章9至21節
9愛人不可虛假；惡要厭惡，善要親近。
10愛弟兄，要彼此親熱；恭敬人，要彼此推讓。
11殷勤不可懶惰。要心裡火熱，常常服事主。
12在指望中要喜樂，在患難中要忍耐；禱告要恆切。
13聖徒缺乏要幫補，客要一味地款待。
14逼迫你們的，要給他們祝福；只要祝福，不可咒詛。
15與喜樂的人要同樂；與哀哭的人要同哭。
16要彼此同心，不要志氣高大，倒要俯就卑微的人（註：“人”或作“事”）。不要自以為聰明。
17不要以惡報惡。眾人以為美的事，要留心去做。
18若是能行，總要盡力與眾人和睦。
19親愛的弟兄，不要自己伸冤，寧可讓步，聽憑主怒（註：或作“讓人發怒”）。因為經上記著：“主說：‘伸冤在我，我必報應。’”
20所以，“你的仇敵若餓了，就給他吃；若渴了，就給他喝。因為你這樣行，就是把炭火堆在他的頭上。”
21你不可為惡所勝，反要以善勝惡。
信息分享
我們對別人的愛心，必須出於真誠，而且不可厚此薄彼。正如有人說過：「愛是一種服侍別人而不求個人得益的自由。」唯有聖靈才能使我們有這種愛。保羅在此亦列出了一連串指示，教我們怎樣去表達愛心。
第9至13節可能是針對信徒之間的關係；而第14至21節則關係到與外人交往的一般原則。保羅在第一部份詳盡地教導信徒要彼此相愛、互相尊重、常存喜樂、保持忍耐並恆切禱告。
我們對教外的人，也要以愛心相待。這裡列出世人可能會以種種方式來虧待我們，但保羅卻教導我們要以愛相待。他們可能會逼迫或虧待我們，我們該怎麼做呢？也許，最好的方法是把情況交到神的手中，求神親自處理。這樣做並不容易，卻是最穩妥的方法。你會在今天嘗試嗎？
留意第18節的「若是能行」這句話，它的下一句是「總要盡力與眾人和睦」。有些時候，無論你怎樣努力、怎樣以恩慈侍人，總會有些人是我們無法相處的。我們該怎麼辦呢？為他們禱告，將他們交到主的手中。這也是最穩妥的方法。
WHERE DOES LOVE FIT IN?
Romans 12: 9-21
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[a] says the Lord.
20 Therefore, “ If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”[b]
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Message
But it must be genuine and sincere, not selectively loving some while ignoring others. As someone has said, “Love is the freedom to serve others with no interest in personal gain.” Only the Holy Spirit can produce love like that. Paul also gave a helpful list of instructions for us as Christians.
Possibly verses 9-13 could refer to our relationships within the church while verses 14-21 could cover our contacts with the outside world. Paul covered in the first section - love for our fellow church members, respect for each other, be joyful, be patient, and be faithful in prayer. That is quite a checklist.
In dealing with the world, love again is the basis for our actions and attitudes. Look at all the ways people can act toward us and look at how Paul said we should respond. They can persecute us or abuse us. What can we do? Often it's best to leave the circumstances in God's hands and let Him deal with the situation. That is not easy but it is the safest. Try it today.
Notice the words of verse 18 “If it is possible…” Isn't it good that phrase is included here? And did you notice the second phrase – “as far as it depends on you”. Sometimes no matter how hard we try or how gracious we may try to be, there are people with whom we don't seem to be able to get along. What can we do? Pray for them and leave them with the Lord. Again that is the safest way.