November 11: Romans 13 8-10

Key Verse: Romans 13 9
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 neighbour as yourself.”

Devotion:
The disciples became the ministry team who went out into the world and shared the news Jesus had given them. They were doing what Christ wanted and what He had taught them to do – trust and obey. But they would also remind people they needed to take heed of the things to be done within their societies to obey the laws of the  communities they were living in. Being a good example to others is only one part of being a Christian, but as a first point of contact it may be a very important one.

What does it all boil down to though? Even though we have all these laws in our communities, if we do not show love to others, we have fallen short of our commission. In these verses we are reminded of the commandments and also reminded of the extra commandment given by Jesus – to love your neighbour as yourself! Only God’s love He gives us can achieve such heights required by God; mankind’s love can only reach our expectations…

The love God is asking us to achieve does not impose limits on others, it does not require payment from others, it does not measure others – this love God is teaching us is a love without limits; the same love as Christ showed for us and God has for us. Without this love, how can we love Christ without limit. Without this love, how can we expect to love our neighbours? This is why it is described as a love which fulfils the law, both within our communities and between us and God!

Once we start to aim for the love God has for us, we stop hurting others, we stop thinking ill of others, we stop defrauding others and we begin to live in the peace God has for us. When we display this love, others will begin to see there is hope, there is no malice and no hatred. If we want to be able to stop breaking the commandments, we should aim at the love Christ has shown us in the beginning.

Points to Ponder:
How much love do you show others in your community?

Are you willing to stretch the limits of your love?