Tuesday August 10, 2021

Lord, help me to pause, help me to focus, help me to receive your word in a way that makes an impact on my day. Amen.

Romans 13:8-14

Love Fulfills the Law
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

The Day Is Near
And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

Love is the Law

Building on yesterday’s discussion of how our faith (like scientific logic) builds one core truth upon another, here is today’s reading from Romans 13:10.

Truth 1: The Old Testament gave the Israelites laws for following God.

Truth 2: Jesus replaced 10 laws with 2.

Truth 3: Believing in Jesus means that loving your neighbor fulfills all the laws.

However you say it…Love is the Law are words that any Sunday School class could wrestle with for months.

LOVE is the law is an emphatic statement of truth.

Love IS the law speaks to love being the thing that has replaced the law.

Love is THE law means that there is only one law, and it is love.

Love is the LAW claims that love is very serious, it is the final law.

Can you actually run through all the implications to your life this morning if these 4 words are true?

Lord, be with my next steps, be in my next thoughts, be in my every breath as I live your word into the world. Amen.