Outdo

“Be devoted to tenderly loving your fellow believers as members of one family. Try to outdo yourselves in respect and honor of one another.” Romans 12:10 TPT

How do you treat others in the body of Christ? Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35). How are you loving fellow believers?

Most of us are careful to hand out love to others. Maybe we learned at a young age to protect ourselves from getting hurt or maybe we just want to make sure we get a return on our investment. Jesus has a way of seeing through our schemes to withhold our love, as He tells us not only to be devoted to each other in brotherly love, but also to outdo each other with that love and respect. In other words, He is telling us to not hold back when loving our fellow believers and to love not expecting a thing in return.

Take a minute to ask yourself who in the family of God you have trouble loving, not just in your local church but in other denominations. Does the fact that you don’t like they way he does things, or that you don’t agree with a part of his theology exempt you from the call to love in these verses? Ask the Lord to show you where you need some work in this area. Confess your struggles to Him. Who can you show this love to today? Who do you need to show this love to today?