Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another. Romans 13:8
Billy, a loving and loyal dog, became an internet star in 2020. His owner, Russell, had broken his ankle and was using crutches to walk. Soon the dog also began to hobble when walking with his owner. Concerned, Russell took Billy to the vet, who said there was nothing wrong with him! He ran freely when he was by himself. It turned out that the dog faked a limp when he walked with his owner. That’s what you call trying to truly identify with someone’s pain!
Coming alongside others is forefront in the apostle Paul’s instructions to the church in Rome. He summed up the last five of the Ten Commandments in this way: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Romans 13:9). We can see the importance of walking with others in verse 8 as well: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.”
Author Jenny Albers advises: “When someone is broken, don’t try to fix them. (You can’t.) When someone is hurting, don’t attempt to take away their pain. (You can’t.) Instead, love them by walking beside them in the hurt. (You can.) Because sometimes what people need is simply to know they aren’t alone.”
Because Jesus, our Savior, walks alongside us through all our hurt and pain, we know what it means to walk with others.
Love Fulfills the Law
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another,
for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.x
9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,”
“You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”a y and whatever other command there may be,
are summed upz in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”b a
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.b
11 And do this, understanding the present time:
The hour has already comec for you to wake up from your slumber,d
because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.e
So let us put aside the deeds of darknessf and put on the armorg of light.
13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness,h
not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.i
14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,j
and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.c k
INSIGHT
- In the midst of your darkest moments, how do you typically respond?
- Why is it difficult to be honest about your struggles?
We tend to think of the law as restrictive, but Paul took a thoroughly positive approach by saying, “Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). If we’re truly loving our neighbor, we won’t commit the sins he lists here: adultery, murder, theft, coveting (v. 9). Perhaps most interesting among these prohibitions is the easily overlooked sin of coveting. Desiring what others have can lead us to all kinds of unloving thoughts, which left unchecked will result in unloving actions. Notably, in this passage Paul echoed what Jesus said when a legal expert asked Him, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:36–37), and then noted that the second greatest commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 39).
PRAYER
Open my eyes, God, to the needs of people around me. Help me to be a loving friend. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: Romans 13:8-14 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: Job 5-7 ; Acts 8:1-25
