Have you ever been reading the Bible and something just jumps out at you? Perhaps it was a familiar passage or lesser known, but the truth it taught in that moment had an impact. This happened to me recently with a fairly well-known passage. I’d like to share this with you and talk about the implications.
The first part of this verse is relatively well-known. “Owe nothing to anyone” (Rom. 13:8a). The context of this verse is about taxes and customs. Some have taken it to mean that you can’t be in debt in any way including contractual agreements. I’m not sure that is the purpose of this verse, especially once you read the rest of the text. The rest of the verse is “except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13:8b). This is what hit me hard. I was reading a book about the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and the author made this comment about this passage, “Love is the debt that we owe all men” (The Parables of Jesus, Trench). I’ve known we are supposed to love everyone since a young age going to Bible class, but I’ve never thought about it this way. I am in debt to everyone I meet to show love. That moved it beyond just a nice sentiment or moral obligation to a social debt. It is also a debt I will never pay off. It has brought the love I show to my neighbor into greater focus.
It is interesting that Paul would begin this letter talking about his indebtedness. “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise” (Rom. 1:14). He is using this in the context of teaching the gospel to all men. Why is he indebted? It is because of his love for God combined with a love for mankind that he is indebted to share the gospel. That is the primary implication of that debt of love we owe to all. We must share the gospel with them. How can we say we love anyone and withhold the saving message they need?
Another implication is our focus. When the lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor,” he was asking, “Who do I have to love” (Luke 10:29). Jesus’ parable directed him not to a person that he must show love to but rather who must show love. If we can shift our thinking away from finding the right person or situation to show love to being the person that shows love, we will be overwhelmed with opportunities to love. Trench went on to say when the sun was created it didn’t ask who to shine its light on. God made it to shine on everything. John said it this way, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John. 4:7). I hope this has been as impactful for you as it was for me. If you already knew this, great! Now it is time to get out there and do it. Let’s work on the debt of love that we owe because of a debt that was paid for us.