A debt to be paid

Romans 13:8: “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

As Christ-followers we are called to have only one debt, and that is love. Love is the one thing that we owe everyone we meet. Why? Simply because it is the example that was given by God. He has loved us, so now we need to love others. John 3:16 says, “"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” The love of God was generously displayed to us, so Paul is calling the church to display love to the world.

When the world sees our love, they see what Jesus has done in our lives. We then become living testimonies for God. He goes on to say, “9 For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

These commandments were set to keep us from harming each other. God said that if you keep these commands life will be pretty good for you and your neighbors. He did not set these rules to harm us or to punish us. On the contrary, He care for us and wanted the best for us. I am sure we can all agree that not doing these actions (murder, stealing, lying, and lusting) will make our lives better. For the Christ-follower we are to exemplify the love of Jesus in our daily walk. For the Christ-follower there is no choice, no exception, no excuse, for us not loving our neighbor.

Application – For the Christ-follower we are called to love our neighbor.

Challenge – Let the love of Christ be manifested in you.