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Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:8-14)
Two song titles in a row? I did not know there was a song by the name of today's devotional until I searched for a graphic and found a song by the same title by Ronnie Miller. I got the name from the first verse of today's passage (maybe Ronnie did too?). The only indebtedness we should have is not with money, but with love for one another, and sometimes we come up short. Paul says that by loving we have more than fulfilled the law, for the sins listed in the law come from a lack of love for neighbor. Can you imagine going through today with that thought, and maybe even saying it to someone, "I owe you love!"? Love, Paul says, means not doing wrong to our neighbor. As we grow in our lives, we should grow more and more in love. The late Rev. Dr. Charles Allen, longtime pastor of First United Methodist Church in Houston, used to say that life has a way of boiling away the layers of cover we place on ourselves and the older we get the more we reveal who we truly are. And in the visits I have had to nursing homes, I have seen that is true. Some of the people there are the bitterest, sour people you never hope to find, while others are so sweet you hate to leave their side. If we set out to owe no one love because we're too busy giving it away, we will become more loving. Each day bring us closer to the fullness of salvation, the full revelation of God's love and light, so the things of darkness will flee as we put on the armor of light. We must put on Jesus; Jesus should be the face people see in us as we live our lives.
PRAYER: Loving God, as I grow older, let me grow in love. Time is too short to spend it angry or impatient with one another. I seek only to be love incarnate with the face of Jesus to all whom I meet. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Put on Jesus and His armor of light for all to see today!
Eradio Valverde
