Love for One Another

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

Love fulfills the law. How else can one interpret this? Christians, do you agree that if we don’t love our neighbors (to include our enemies) as ourselves, then we are breaking the law of our Creator? Literalists? What do you have to say? I am asking because the world is watching. Especially when certain people in this country try to say that they are speaking for God, how is it that they can also be the first people to foment hatred and division? Why are they obsessed with determining who is out rather than seeking to live from the place of God’s all embracing love?

I will admit, that I am not a literalist anymore. This is in large part because I witnessed way too many people who said they took the Bible literally arguing with me about what amounted to them justifying injustice, focusing on Christianity as a means to “success”, and being more concerned about the world to come than the world that is right in front of their faces–loving the world they can’t see while borderline hating the world they can and many of the people in it.

Love Fulfills the Law

Well, if you’ve come this far and don’t know what to think about what I’m saying, I get it. I’ve said a lot and not in the most pastorly way. Here’s why. Because as you’ll hear in the video sometimes what the world considers to be breaking the law is actually living the law of Love. And that’s something I do take literally. I choose not to focus on how old the earth is or whether dinosaurs were real because neither of them help me work toward the unpayable debt of loving my neighbors as myself. So this is what I choose to focus on:

Love is a debt you can never repay. (Romans 13:8-10)

Everyone who receives love owes love. (1 John 4:11-12)

If you’re loving right, it will cost you everything. (John 15:13)

In the end, it will be worth it. (Matthew 24:12-14)

If you claim to love God who you can’t see but hate the people you can see, you’re a liar. (1 John 4:20)

To be continued…