Romans 12:10-11

In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate one to another; in honor preferring one another; not lagging in diligence; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

I had to look up fervent because that word is not used around me. Evidently, it has to do with burning and glowing according to the dictionary. It is quite striking to me that I don’t hear that word anymore, even in Church. The Bible also says that there will come a time in the last days when people will have a form of godliness but deny its power. I think these things may be related.

The power of our service is from the Holy Spirit as we have been reading. Once again, Paul brings it up. This time he uses this burning word: “fervent.” That is the kind of excitement and eagerness that we should be having as we serve the Lord.

Through this Spiritual power, we are able to have a family kind of love for each other and to have the desire to put others above ourselves. With this kind of power we are able to work very hard to do good for God. It is encouraging to me that the command to do all of these great things comes with power that is far more than enough for the job. If we don’t stop trying to do it on our own, we won’t have enough fire to do it right.