Romans 13:8-10
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
As a parent it is a great feeling to hear and see your children getting along. And the opposite is true as well. It hurts to see them hurt each other. Imagine God’s perspective on all of mankind. Not just our brothers and sisters in Christ, but all people. Because He loves all people.
There should be an urgency to our love for all people. An obligation or a “debt” as Paul calls it here in Romans 13. Paul not only describes it as a debt, but a continuing debt. It’s continuing because we will never reach a “paid in full” status with our love for each other. We will always be able to show and share more love.
Paul here reiterates what Jesus once said about loving God and loving your neighbor, that they are the fulfillment of the Law. If you love God and love others you will uphold the whole moral code of mankind. We live in a world that is in constant need of seeing God’s people love with God’s love. The world needs this, and God is honored by it. If we would just love God and love others we would walk in righteous. I think it would be a very good feeling for our Father in heaven to look down on His Children all getting along.
Meditate on this scripture and these questions:
Think of anything that God has asked us to do and then think about how loving your neighbor would accomplish that
Think of anything that God has asked us not to do and then think about how loving your neighbor would keep us from that
Think about how Jesus said that we should seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and how loving our neighbor plays a key part in this
Now spend some time in prayer with God:
Ask for the urgency and importance of loving each other to fill your heart
Pray that others would connect with God’s love and show it and share it more and more
