Owe nothing but love.

Romans 13:8-9 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” What a clear encouragement to live to love with Jesus! Believers have Jesus living inside them. His righteousness fulfills the law of God. Heb. 1:8-9 records what the Father says about His Son. “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.” Fulfilling the law is the definition of the righteousness God. In Rom. 6:13 Paul wrote, “Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” We might consider this command to owe nothing to anyone except to love them as Jesus’ attitude toward His Father’s heart expressed in His Law. Notice that believers owe love to “one another.” When we live to love with Jesus, we are also displaying the mercies of God toward Jesus in our brothers and sisters. So verses 8-10 of Rom. 13 summarized what Paul urged them to do as recipients of the mercies of God, namely, to present their bodies to God a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God as an act of worship. His application followed with love for fellow members of Jesus’ body, love for enemies, and love for governing authorities. This isn’t the only time the Scriptures teach that loving your neighbor is a summary statement of all the commandments. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, Matthew 7:12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Paul wrote the Galatians in 5:13-14 “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’” If you love someone, you won’t commit adultery with them or against your spouse. You won’t murder, steal, or covet. You certainly wouldn’t want someone to do that to you, would you? Another understanding of who is your neighbor is this: it’s the one God puts in your path each day. That’s why in the Live to Love prayer you can find at livetolovewithjesus.com you’ll find this prayer. Would you join me in prayer? “Father in heaven, thank You for another day of life to live to know and love You and to love with Jesus. Please anoint and fill me with the Holy Spirit, the presence and power of Christ, so that I can love and trust You and love those You put in my path today, for Your glory.” Amen. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com