Today’s Bible reading is 1 Chronicles 11 and Romans 13.
Monday is a good opportunity to remind ourselves what we owe.
In Romans 13:7, the Spirit of God instructs:
Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
But notice that this principle applies to much more than filing the proper paperwork by April 15th of each year or paying your electric bill on time each month.
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For 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: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Rom 13:8-10)
I’m in debt this week. So are you. As disciples of Jesus, we “owe” love to each other, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and our neighbors.
“What does that look like?” we might ask. Maybe Matthew 7:12 summarizes it best: “Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
“And who exactly is my neighbor?” might be our follow-up. Remember Jesus himself answered that very question in Luke 10:29-37, beginning with, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead,” and concluding with, “You go, and do likewise.”
Love does no wrong. Love shows mercy. Love is patient and kind. Love bears, believes, hopes, and endures.
I’m in debt this week. So are you. We owe love. May we pay forward what we owe in the name of the Savior who has already covered what we could never repay.