(originally published 12/13/07)

This morning I read Romans 12:9-13. My Bible offers this heading for that section, “Marks of the True Christian.” As I read these verses I asked myself if these ‘marks’ characterize my life. Let’s take a moment and consider this “spiritual checklist.”

• Let love be genuine – Do I love sincerely and without hypocrisy? Notice that there is no stated object for this love. It is wide open. Do I love God genuinely? Do I love ____ genuinely?
• Abhor what is evil – Do I recognize evil? Do I detest it? Does evil cause me to be horrified?
• Hold fast to what is good – Do I cleave or stick to what is good? Am I able to identify what is good? This one seems to work in conjunction with the previous one. In other words, “Abhor evil and cleave to what is good!”
• Love one another with brotherly affection – Do I love my brothers and sisters in Christ? How do I demonstrate love to them?
• Outdo one another in showing honor – How far am I willing to go to honor my brother?
• Do not be slothful in zeal – Am I ‘slothful’ in regards to my spiritual responsibilities? Am I a lazy Christian?
• Be fervent in spirit – Do I ‘boil over’ for Christ? What am I most fervent about in my life?
• Serve the Lord – How do I serve the Lord? How did I serve Him today? yesterday?
• Rejoice in hope – Am I genuinely cheerful at the hope I have in Jesus Christ?
• Be patient in tribulation – Does my patience grow during trials or does my patience disappear? Do I persevere when under pressure?
• Be constant in prayer – How many minutes of each day do I spend alone in prayer? 5? 10? 30?
• Contribute to the needs of the saints – How do I help meet the needs of my brothers in Christ?
• Seek to show hospitality – Do I actively seek to show hospitality to total strangers?