"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good."
In Romans 12:9, Paul offers simple, yet profound words to guide you in walking a righteous Christian path. What is your Christian responsibility, having been graced by God’s mercy and forgiveness? For inspiration, Paul suggests looking to one of God’s greatest gifts – love.
The path of righteousness is one of love, yet Paul further prescribes that your love must be without pretense or falsehood. It is easier to say that you love all others. It is less easy to follow the lead of God’s love for his flock, as God’s love is unerringly sincere and without reservation.
To love sincerely, Paul continues, involves the rejection of evil and the cherishing of goodness. To abhor evil is to reject and condemn sin. Yet sin by its very nature can be tempting, and so Paul challenges you to actively combat sin as God does.
Paul lastly calls for the upholding of good. Good is not simply the absence of sin. This verse prompts you to consider good through the eyes of God. In this sense, one can look to the beginning of the verse, to love. To love genuinely is to love for the goodness it brings upon the world.
