living in love and harmony 152/366

a week ago I began memorizing Romans 12:9-21
a verse a day, 
it is one of my favorite passages,
not because it is easy to practice, 
but because it is not difficult to understand

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good."

"Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor."

"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord."

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

"Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality."

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them."

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."

"Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight."

Day one: genuinely love
Day two: honor others
Day three: serve the Lord with fervor
Day four: rejoice in hope-
               is hope what we are to rejoice in or how we are to rejoice? 
               or both?
Day five: be aware, look for opportunities to share 
Day six: now it starts to get nitty gritty: bless those who intentionally cause me pain 
Day seven: experience other people's joy and sadness with them
Day eight and nine: (and maybe ten,eleven and twelve: I refuse to go on until I get each verse memorized and I'm struggling to get this one down) 
Live in harmony... Honestly, I have spent the last two days ruminating on these three words. Harmony means we are not all singing the same note- somehow in ways I cannot fully articulate, in my inner being I sense this includes allowing God to weave tightly into the very fiber of my being of all of the elements in the verses before this one and what comes after.

Living in harmony is a dance.
It requires balance, give and take, working and resting.
It begins with genuine love and is displayed/proved by living all of this out:
abhor evil, hold fast to good
showing affection and honor
living in hope, with patience, practicing ongoing prayer
giving to others so they can live their lives, inviting them into mine
blessing those who persecute me, knowing that hurt people hurt people
rejoicing with and weeping with others are part of loving well
harmony-encourage others to use their voice, 
              look for ways to use mine to complement, not compete with theirs

Each day I add another verse I am more firmly convicted that consistently practicing this kind of love would go a long way toward easing the turmoil and chaos in this world. 
Easy? Not by a long shot. 
Costly? Definitely. 
Worth it? Absolutely.