The debt of love. Romans 13:8-10 I know there is one debt I will never be able to pay off. That is the debt of love I owe to the Lord Jesus Christ. I am forever indebted to Him who is "the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." By choosing to love others and honestly doing so, I am fulfilling what the law says. Love gives us the motivation to live for God now and the power to commit ourselves to His will in the future even though we may not know what the future holds. Love is the guiding ethic that those who live by faith practice. It fulfills the objective of the law. The whole purpose and commands of the law are reduced to loving God and our neighbor.
Fulfilling the law means the completion of its purpose, which our Lord Jesus Christ did when He was here. We show the evidence of that reality by loving others which is the basic ethic of the new covenant. “Love one another even as Christ loved you.” Our lives should be characterized by love which is not a feeling or refraining from doing them harm. It means doing what is right for their good. Love keeps us from doing evil and promotes in us a desire to do what is right. It is only right that I do not live beyond my means and that I do not owe personal debts. These I must pay whether they are known by others or are private matters. That is commonsense, responsible practical Christian living. Law-keeping is not the fullness of the law but loving others is.
To "love my neighbor as myself" brings me to ask, "Self, how do you love yourself?" I concluded that self-love includes seeking food to eat, clothing to wear, shelter from the elements and a desire to avoid being hurt in any way. It also includes a stable, enjoyable, blessed marriage that I can share continuously with my wife. Self-love really wants the love of my children and grandchildren who give evidence of their love for me and whom I love dearly. I also love the work I am called to do, the country where I live and the peace I enjoy. So, I am caused to stop and think if these are what I truly desire for my neighbors? Do I take steps to bring the evidence of this love to others around me? Do they know that I love the Lord and do love them too?
Loving others is a debt that is never paid off. We are under obligation to continue to fulfill our social and moral responsibilities to others even though we are not obligated to the law and its demands. By nature, we love ourselves but by grace we are to demonstrate love by attitude and actions. Our love to others should be sincere and genuine. The list of sins is excluded by the law of love which is higher and greater than civil or religious law requirements.
The laws of the land have their demands and they seek to bring about and maintain order to people and society as a whole. To do things right and to conduct life in an orderly, self-centered, righteous way does not fulfill the purpose of the law. That is only law-keeping. The principle of loving God and loving my neighbor is the basic principle of a living, vital Christian faith. This is done apart from merely keeping the laws under which society is conducted. Love, and grace that reveals love, fulfills any law that demands my obedience. But far more important is that love for God and others, is the rule of life that believers in Christ live by. When that is done, all other obligations in life will be fully met.
The sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ as our perfect substitute, have completed for believers in Him the whole purpose of the law. “God commended (demonstrated) His love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The requirements of the law of love mean that we should go as far as we possibly can to imitate our Lord Jesus Christ and His love for us.