Romans 13:8

NASB	NLT	VOICE
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law.	8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.	8 Don’t owe anyone anything, with the exception of love to one another – that is a debt which never ends – because the person who loves others has fulfilled the law.

We are consistently in debt to Christ for the sacrifice he made on the cross, that poured his love and grace on us. The only way we can even start to repay what he did for us is showing that same love and grace to others. The sacrifice he made is not something we can do today because Jesus was, is, and will be the only sinless person in the world. We can love everyone as Christ loved us, sacrificing our time, resources, and emotions to meet their needs to the best of our ability. This is what Christ calls his followers to do to repay what he did for us. Because Christ’s love will always be greater than ours, we will always have the obligation to repay his love to others the best we can. Fulfilling the ability to loving our neighbor shows that we can follow the laws that God set for us. It’s how the ancient Jewish audience understood the law. It’s how the Gentiles understood the law. It’s how we can understand the law. The laws were made to adapt to the culture and time of history they were set in. God does allow the laws to adapt as well, while keeping his strong foundation present in what they mean.

John 13:34

NASB	NLT	VOICE
34 I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.	34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.	34 So I give you a new command: Love each other deeply and fully. Remember the ways that I have loved you, and demonstrate your love for others in those same ways.

To love others was not something that was new to the Jewish people, but to love others as Jesus did (in a self-sacrificial nature) was revolutionary. We are called by Jesus to love others in this same way today. Such love will confuse and bewilder others, but it’s that kind of love that can lead to a conversation about Jesus and to who he really is. It could be that money you saved up for the new iPhone that God calls you to give to someone trying to meet their monthly rent. It could be those new shoes you bought that you need to give to a kid walking around town barefoot. It could be that day off you took to help someone move or help down at your local soup kitchen or food pantry. It’s making sure we’re using our time and resources wisely to care for our neighbor. It will make us feel uncomfortable. It could even make us feel guilty when we don’t do this. The guilt from it is not from God.

God does not want us to give if we literally cannot. If we’re burnt, or have no abundance to give from, God wants us to make sure we can live sustainably to do what he called. However, there’s part of our abundance that we think we need, that we don’t. We don’t need the latest iPhone, but instead maybe a 3–4-year-old one. We don’t need the newest car, but one that can take us from point A to point B safely. We don’t need the most muscles, but instead a physique that makes us feel comfortable about ourselves and can be achieved reasonably within our rhythm. The point is: God wants us to look at our lives, see where we can live within a reasonable means, and give the rest. God wants us to care for him, by caring for his creation, by loving our neighbor. This is God’s love in action.

Jesus was a living example of God’s love. When you are faced with Jesus’ teaching, do you automatically go to a place of love and those you DO love in your life, or do you think about those who are hard to love and those you feel like you cannot love?  The love Jesus calls us to show feels impossible. I mean, we have to love our enemies. We have to show compassion to those who caused us trouble. We don’t have to like, tolerate, or put up with who they are because of what they did to us. The goal is to teach each other as a human, with kindness and respect, in spite of what happened. To kill the negativity with kindness and respect.

This kind of love is hard, and in order to show it, we must humble ourselves through Jesus’ sacrifice. Jesus died for us and the ickiness that resides within us. When we see that Jesus died despite what we’ve done because he loves us so much, we are called to reflect that love to those around. We can use the power of the Holy Spirit to pour that love into our hearts, so we can pour it into each other.

Next slice of manna: Manna for the Mind #201