DAILY DEVOTIONAL

The Debt Love Keeps

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 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. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love [is] the fulfilling of the law.” — Romans 13:8-10 (KJV)

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A small debt can take up more room in your mind than it seems to deserve. You remember the bill on the counter, the message you still need to answer, or the favor someone did for you that you haven't returned. Some debts are financial, some are relational, and some are simply the quiet awareness that another person has been patient with you. Into that ordinary part of life, Paul speaks about an obligation that never quite reaches its final payment: love.

Romans 13 comes after Paul has addressed the believer's responsibilities toward governing authorities and other people. He has mentioned taxes, customs, respect, and honor—what is owed in the ordinary order of life. Then he writes, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." He isn't pretending that every loan must be instantly repaid or that legitimate financial obligations don't exist. He is turning our attention toward the one debt we should continue paying, day after day, because love is never something we finish dispensing.

Paul then makes love more concrete. "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." Love is not merely warmth in the heart or kind language when the mood is right. It refuses to betray, harm, exploit, lie about, or resent a neighbor. It takes God's commands seriously because another person's life matters to God.

That can expose us in uncomfortable ways. We may not have committed some dramatic wrong, yet we can still use a person's weakness against them, speak about them carelessly, keep score of their failures, or quietly hope they lose what we wanted. We can be polite in public and unkind in the private places where nobody applauds us. The command to love reaches those places. It asks not only, “What am I allowed to do?” but also, “Will this work harm toward the person in front of me?”

Paul says, "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love [is] the fulfilling of the law." That does not mean love agrees with everything, avoids every hard conversation, or leaves people unprotected from harmful behavior. Sometimes love tells the truth, sets a firm boundary, involves wise help, or refuses to participate in what is destructive. A person in danger should seek safety, and wrongdoing should not be hidden under religious language. Love seeks another person's good, and sometimes seeking that good requires courage rather than mere niceness.

You may have a particular person in mind as you read this—someone at work, in your family, in your church, or near your daily routine. Begin with one honest examination instead of trying to repair every relationship at once. Have you withheld a necessary apology? Are you carrying a grievance that has turned into contempt? Have you been careless with someone's reputation? Perhaps the next faithful step is a truthful conversation, a corrected message, a repayment plan, or choosing not to answer an insult with another one. A small act of obedience can make love visible.

It may also help to pray before you speak, especially when your emotions are running high. Ask God to keep you from pretending, exaggerating, or punishing someone with silence. Listen carefully, say what is true without adding weapons to it, and accept that you cannot control how the other person responds. Christian love is not a technique for making people cooperate with us. It is a way of walking before God, trusting Jesus with the results while taking responsibility for the part that belongs to us.

The love Paul describes has its deepest source in Christ, who does not love us from a safe distance or only when we are easy to love. He calls us away from the darkness of self-protection and self-importance into a life that does no ill to our neighbors. So before this day ends, name one person whose good you can sincerely seek, and choose one concrete action that will serve that good without abandoning wisdom or truth. You may not resolve the whole relationship, and you may not feel immediately different. Still, in that ordinary act, you will be paying the debt Scripture places before you: to love one another.