Bible Reading: Genesis 43; Job 9; Mark 13; Romans 13
Romans 13:9-10 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
The Ten Commandments can be summed up. Here, the Bible lists for us the last five of the Ten Commandments. These all have to do with personal interactions with other people. The Bible says these can be briefly comprehended in this saying – thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Do you love your neighbor? If you do, you won't steal his wife. You won't kill him or his family. You won't steal his things. You won't lie about him and you won't covet his things.
The Ten Commandments are all thou shalt not's. The law of love is a 'thou shall'. Love is the law by which the follower of Jesus lives. Love is an active thing. It is real and tangible. It is not necessarily a feeling. Love is a verb. We are indebted to our neighbors to love them!
Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
We owe the debt of love because we are to obey our Father. Do you remember what Jesus told the disciples that heard him preach the Sermon on the Mount?
Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The Pharisees were all about keeping the law; however they had no idea what it meant to love. Their law-keeping was all about dos and don'ts; it was not about people and a relationship with God.
Jesus completely fulfilled the law.
Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Love fulfills the law. Jesus showed us the love of God in a real, tangible way. He died for us. He did something for us that we cannot do for ourselves. He laid down his life for his friends.
Will you indebt yourself to others? Will you live a life of walking in love? The Bible tells us to love God; love one another within the church; to love our wives; to love our husbands; to love our children; to love our neighbor; and to love our enemies. The life of Christ is a life of love.
IN Christ,
Rody
