Romans 13:8-10 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.
It’s never a good thing to owe somebody something is it? Many people today know what it means to owe someone, so the words of the apostle are very relevant. Most of the people today have to pay back loans, credits, rent. When you owe someone something you are always under pressure and when you give back what you owe you feel like a weight has been lifted. In the previous verse the apostle says that it’s better to get those things off your back before they become a burden. Romans 13:7 „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.” He says: do the right thing. To my mind comes the story of how the Pharisees tested Jesus: Matthew 22:17-21 „Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.[a] 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” Apostle Paul tells the church in Rome that there is one thing they should always have in their lives and it is love. In other words this is like the feeling of urgency to return what you owe, because you know that there is no escape from that and that you have to do it. The urge or the constant reminder from the Holy Spirit in your heart – loving thy neighbor like you love yourself is written not in ink, but by His Holy hand. Apostle Paul tells the church in Corinth of the love they have for them deep in their hearts: 2 Corinthians 3:2 „You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all.” Loving thy neighbor means to fulfill God’s commandments and to obey them. Don’t love on paper but love people in deeds, so that Jesus is glorified in your life.
1 John 3:18 „Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
May God be glorified in your life every day.
Have a blessed day, church.
Pastor Vasil Petrov