Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10
One of the most wonderful joys of my life is that I have always been surrounded by people who are wonderful role models for how to love. My father had a huge heart and was always loving of others. My mother was someone who taught me at a very early age of how to be loving and respectful toward others particularly women. Then my wife has been a wonderful loving person who is fully driven by the adage that love truly does not fail, and has loved me both because and in spite of the person I am. Each of them has greatly helped me to show more love toward others.
However, I have to be constantly reminded that I need to watch my love for something else; Best Buy. I have learned to be more disciplined as I have grown older, but I use to always buy the latest technology not having a care for how much it costs and if I could afford it. This of course would lead to debt, which if I was not careful would cause greater harm than good.
Today’s verse has a dual purpose, and is a prime example of what we are to do as fellow Christians. It first discusses debt. Many of you know who Dave Ramsey is (Christian Financial advisor), and he constantly talks about how Christian it is for us to be responsible for our debt and live a debt free life. Being in debt is sometimes inevitable, but it is something not to be carried and leveraged against forever. God made us to be a free people both spiritually and financially. We are given freedom from our sins and guilt through Jesus Christ. We are thus entrusted to be debt free financially as well and manage ours debts accordingly.
This leads us to the one thing God does want us to be indebted to; love. If we are to live debt free, why would He ask that we are indebted to love? I once wrote that the lesson of Dr. Martin Luther King’s life is that no matter what your situation is, you can love your way out of it. Perhaps God intended love to be a symbol to others that we are Christians. Or maybe God knew that if everyone were indebted to love, fear or darkness would never exist. Another thought is that the only thing in life that is limitless is love. After all, the best things in life are free, and of these, the greatest is love (see 1 Corinthians 13:13). All of these statements are true, but Paul points out yet something more profound. Love for others is the fulfillment of the law, and it does so by both being the foundation for many of the commandments (Romans 13:9) and causing no harm to others (Romans 13:10).
The life of Jesus summarizes what today’s verses really mean to us and what we as Christians are to always remember. He paid our debt for our sins, and gave His life freely because He loved us so. As always, Jesus is our truth and light. As we continue to grow in our walk of faith, those things become clearer to us. My prayer is that we live both a debt free life and abundantly indebted one to love.
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Heart to Change
For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you. 2 Corinthians 2:4
Change often comes through a revelation that a path traveled was a wrong one. However, there are times forces of status quo and false teaching can cloud which path is a righteous one. Something that can clear our vision to see is not just revealed in our mind. It is often when the path toward righteousness overwhelms our heart and spirit.
A friend and I were reminiscing about the Civil Rights movement, and we took a look at it from a historical perspective. While we knew there were many moving pieces to the struggle, we spent time determining what the turning point was. As we dived into the subject further, I told him of a revelation of sorts. Many who knew the history when asked what the turning point of the Civil Rights movement was might say that it was Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. Others would mention it was the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. Some might even point out the burning of the churches down south. However as I analyzed all of the various events and marches, there was one event that was so powerful in its vivid imagery and so clear in its distinct example of blatant racial injustice that it was impossible for anyone righteous to ignore.
I remembered March 7, 1965, when a march was planned from Selma to Montgomery, AL. On this day, which is officially marked as “Bloody Sunday,” peaceful marchers were attacked by Alabama State and Selma local police forces using billy clubs and tear gas. It was indeed a dark day in our country’s history. However as we have learned in scripture, it is often through darkness that God shows His light to all who follow. We are grateful to many of our mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, who looked at the images of men and women being senselessly attacked and abused and said with a unified voice, “No more!” No more will we allow the injustice of discrimination to cloud the judgment of this nation. No more will we tolerate a country that would dare say we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal and then say it only applied if you had a particular skin color. No more would we say that the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was allowable only in selected inner circles. Thus change came boldly and swiftly to our nation, and today we are better because of it.
When God sees wrongdoing, He will always provide vision into the injustice so that it may be corrected. In today’s verse, Paul speaks of wrongdoing amongst the churches in Corinth, and the depth his love for all of their people. Note the feelings here; distress, anguish, with many tears. These are the signs of pain and struggle much like you would envision many of the marchers, but for a growing Christian, these are also the signs of growth, strengthen, and enlightenment. Is it any wonder that the saying goes, “That which does not kill you can only make you stronger.” It is with that in mind that Paul noted that his writing was not to cause grief. They were to show depth of love. It is through his love for the people that healing was to begin. Sometimes God will address it within one’s heart to speak of change as Paul. Other times, it is through evidence of wrongdoing that overwhelms the worldly view in our hearts and tears down its structure to erect a view obedient to His will and that of the Holy Spirit. This is very much evident in the change of our nation that fateful day. The bottom line is whether through one or many, God can make a way for us to move what the world might view to be immovable mountains.
God wants both our minds and hearts to be obedient to Him. At times, we can be oblivious to this because our focus can be worldly. While the word of God is an absolute necessity, we should always sensitive to God’s movement in the world, and when He does, our hearts are stirred in such a way that we must act with both passion and conviction for His purpose. My prayer is that through our relationship with Jesus Christ we have solidly built a heart willing to change. Amen.
Change often comes through a revelation that a path traveled was a wrong one. However, there are times forces of status quo and false teaching can cloud which path is a righteous one. Something that can clear our vision to see is not just revealed in our mind. It is often when the path toward righteousness overwhelms our heart and spirit.
A friend and I were reminiscing about the Civil Rights movement, and we took a look at it from a historical perspective. While we knew there were many moving pieces to the struggle, we spent time determining what the turning point was. As we dived into the subject further, I told him of a revelation of sorts. Many who knew the history when asked what the turning point of the Civil Rights movement was might say that it was Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. Others would mention it was the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. Some might even point out the burning of the churches down south. However as I analyzed all of the various events and marches, there was one event that was so powerful in its vivid imagery and so clear in its distinct example of blatant racial injustice that it was impossible for anyone righteous to ignore.
I remembered March 7, 1965, when a march was planned from Selma to Montgomery, AL. On this day, which is officially marked as “Bloody Sunday,” peaceful marchers were attacked by Alabama State and Selma local police forces using billy clubs and tear gas. It was indeed a dark day in our country’s history. However as we have learned in scripture, it is often through darkness that God shows His light to all who follow. We are grateful to many of our mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, who looked at the images of men and women being senselessly attacked and abused and said with a unified voice, “No more!” No more will we allow the injustice of discrimination to cloud the judgment of this nation. No more will we tolerate a country that would dare say we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal and then say it only applied if you had a particular skin color. No more would we say that the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was allowable only in selected inner circles. Thus change came boldly and swiftly to our nation, and today we are better because of it.
When God sees wrongdoing, He will always provide vision into the injustice so that it may be corrected. In today’s verse, Paul speaks of wrongdoing amongst the churches in Corinth, and the depth his love for all of their people. Note the feelings here; distress, anguish, with many tears. These are the signs of pain and struggle much like you would envision many of the marchers, but for a growing Christian, these are also the signs of growth, strengthen, and enlightenment. Is it any wonder that the saying goes, “That which does not kill you can only make you stronger.” It is with that in mind that Paul noted that his writing was not to cause grief. They were to show depth of love. It is through his love for the people that healing was to begin. Sometimes God will address it within one’s heart to speak of change as Paul. Other times, it is through evidence of wrongdoing that overwhelms the worldly view in our hearts and tears down its structure to erect a view obedient to His will and that of the Holy Spirit. This is very much evident in the change of our nation that fateful day. The bottom line is whether through one or many, God can make a way for us to move what the world might view to be immovable mountains.
God wants both our minds and hearts to be obedient to Him. At times, we can be oblivious to this because our focus can be worldly. While the word of God is an absolute necessity, we should always sensitive to God’s movement in the world, and when He does, our hearts are stirred in such a way that we must act with both passion and conviction for His purpose. My prayer is that through our relationship with Jesus Christ we have solidly built a heart willing to change. Amen.
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