Living in the Spirit
September 4, 2014
Scripture Reading: Romans 13:8-14
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. —Romans 13:8-10
What is a debt? According to Merriam-Webster*, a debt is a neglect or violation of duty. Think fault, sin, or trespass. This is the meaning that is used in the Lord’s Prayer in some translations. We probably most often think of the word “debt” in association with money or barter. It is something that one person is bound to pay to another or perform for his or her benefit an obligation. A debt is something we owe.
Paul is saying the only thing we owe to anyone is to love them. The bank that holds our mortgages might take umbrage with that statement. Paul would respond that fulfilling an obligation is love. In my book Houses Divided, I spend some time talking about what love is because I think we have love all mixed up with emotions and our lack of understanding about what love is thus becomes a source of division. If we want the very best for another no matter what the consequences are for us, we love them. Parents demonstrate this everyday as they strive to nurture a child to become self-reliant, knowing full well that at some point that child will leave home and begin a separate life with perhaps children of their own. Jesus demonstrated the fullness of his love for us by going to the cross.
I perhaps hammer on intentionality too much because it is so important. We need to own our own behaviors. The way we don’t commit adultery is to intentionally remember the obligation to our spouse. The way we do not commit murder is to intentionally remember that no matter how angry or hurt or frightened we may be the target of our emotions is also a child of God and we have made an obligation to God to love them as much as we love ourselves. In extreme circumstances, that is the basis of self-defense, but only after all other options for safety have been attempted. The rule of being intentional in our application of love plays out in all the other commandments.
Prayer: Your intentional love of me, O Lord, sustains me and gives me the strength to love intentionally also. Forgive me for the times I fail to love as you would have me love. Amen.
*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/debt
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.