Genuine Love
READ
There's something refreshing about genuine people, isn't there? The kind of person who doesn't put on a show or tell you what you want to hear just to keep the peace. They're real with you—honest, present, unfiltered in the best way. That's the kind of love Paul is talking about here. Genuine love. Sincere love. Love without the mask.
But here's the thing: genuine love is harder than it sounds. It's easy to go through the motions—to say the right words, show up at the right events, even serve in the right ways—while keeping our hearts at a safe distance. We can look devoted on the outside while coasting on autopilot on the inside. We've all done it. The polite smile when we're actually annoyed. The "I'm praying for you" when we've already forgotten. The surface-level "How are you?" when we don't really want to know. Paul begins Romans 12:9-21 with this one command: "Let love be genuine.” Not perfect. Not effortless. Not always easy. But genuine. Real. Whole-hearted.
Let’s take a moment to read Romans 12:9:
“Let love be genuine..”
REFLECT
What would it look like for you to bring your whole self into your relationships today? Not the edited version. Not the version that has it all together. But the real you—the one who's sometimes tired, sometimes uncertain, sometimes struggling to care. What if devotion starts right there, with showing up as you actually are and choosing to love anyway?
Because here's what genuine love requires: it requires us to be present. To pay attention. To let people see us and to actually see them in return. It means we can't phone it in. We can't fake it. Devotion—to God, to others—begins when we stop performing and start participating with our whole selves.
This is what it means to be devoted. It's not about intensity or perfection. It's about authenticity over time. It's about bringing all of who you are—your heart, your mind, your body, your will—into your love for God and others. Not someday when you're more spiritual or more put-together, but today, right now, just as you are.
The beautiful thing is that God already loves you with genuine love. He sees all of you—the parts you're proud of and the parts you'd rather hide—and He's all in. He's not performing. He's not keeping score. He's not waiting for you to get your act together. His love for you is real, and it's that love that makes genuine love possible for us.
So today, what would it look like to let love be genuine? Maybe it's admitting to a friend that you're struggling instead of pretending everything's fine. Maybe it's actually listening when someone talks instead of planning what you'll say next. Maybe it's letting yourself be loved—really loved—by God and by others, without trying to earn it or prove you're worthy of it.
Devotion starts here. With genuine love. By showing up as you really are.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
What makes it hard for you to be genuine in your relationships with God or others?
Who in your life shows you genuine love, and how does that impact you?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
God, teach me what it means to love genuinely. Help me bring my whole self—not just the polished parts—to You and to others. Show me where I've been holding back, and give me the courage to be real. Thank You that Your love for me is already genuine, already whole, already complete. Amen.