“Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet, and if there is any other commandment-all are summed up by this: Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law. Besides this, knowing the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires.” (Romans 13:8-14 CSB)
It’s funny how simple it seems on paper. Just love everybody. That’s not hard, right?
I could do that, if it weren’t for the list of reasons of why I can’t. They don’t love me. They make fun of me. I make fun of them. They have a better job than me. They have a worse job than me. They have the same job as me. I’m related to them – and it goes on. It’s so easy to come up with excuses. What’s hard is ignoring that list every single time I see that “one guy” that I never want to talk to.
But avoiding him doesn’t satisfy any of God’s requirements. Instead, I’m called to let go of all my reasons for not loving him because God loved me first.
Who do you have a hard time loving? Take this week to discover how you can be identified by how well you love your neighbor.
LOVE GOD – LOVE OTHERS – ADVANCE THE KINGDOM
I love you church! See you Sunday!
Jay
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