Are we Really Devoted?

God wants our devotion.

That's probably not news to most of us.  And we know He is the most deserving of anyone we are acquainted with to ask of us and receive our devotion. While praying and reading our Bibles are vital in growing our devotion, living out our faith day by day, minute by minute is what He asks of us as well. An often overlooked part of walking in our devotion to Him is to be devoted to the imperfect human believers who walk Planet Earth with us.  Yes, He asks this painfully difficult thing of us:

Let love be without hypocrisy.  Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.  Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.  Do not be wise in your own estimation.  Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.  Respect what is right in the sight of all men.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. --Romans 12:9-18

God makes it clear that all believers are to be devoted to one another.

That means those who have more or less money than we do.

That means those who irritate or annoy us.

That means those who prefer different kinds of music or different styles of worship services.

That means people we deem as too loud or too quiet, having too many or too few tattoos, too opinionated or too wishy-washy, having "too many" children or "not enough," etc., etc., etc . . . unfortunately, the list could go on and on.

Every person who trusts Christ as his or her Savior is a part of the family, whether or not he or she sees and experiences the world just as we do. Love and devotion are great when those on whom we bestow them are similar to us.  Love and devotion are proven real when they are genuinely bestowed upon people who drive us crazy in one way or another.

This devotion, of course, does not mean accepting sinful behavior from believers without attempted accountability.  No family will be fully functional without loving reproof and correction when necessary, and it's no different for the church family.  The key to this, of course, is the love and adhering to biblical methods of accountability.

Wow, the Romans 12 passage above is packed with ways to show our devotion to one another.  A few of the highlights:

• Give preference to each other
• Contribute to the needs of others
• Practice hospitality
• Bless even those who persecute you 
• Rejoice with those rejoicing, weep with those weeping
• Do not be haughty--associate with everyone!
• Don't take revenge
• Respect what is right
• Live at peace with everyone as much as possible

Friends, it's a tall order, but God doesn't ask us to do the impossible!  Or, maybe a better way to say that is God makes the impossible (on our own) possible (with His help).  Prayer, along with reading Scripture and putting aside self-centered ways, will be powerful in helping us as Christ-followers to be devoted to one another, which points to our devotion to our Savior!