A Word from Romans 13

Do you have any debts these days? I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve got a mortgage, or a car loan. With prices being what they are, maybe you’ve got some credit card debt. And if you’ve got kids of a certain age, you might have some student loans that are still hanging over your head. And let’s face it: borrowing seems to be a built-in feature of modern life. And it’s hard to imagine how the world would work without it.

Then again, financial obligations aren’t the only debts we owe. After all, aren’t we indebted to the families that raised us and the teachers who taught us? Don’t we owe something to the first responders who protect us and to the friends who pray for us? And because God wants us to honor their commitments and to be grateful for the people who’ve gifted us in various ways, it’s really no surprise that the Lord tells us to be faithful about paying our debts! “Give to everyone what you owe them,” today’s word from Romans 13 says. “If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” (13:7)

And yet, there is one debt that God doesn’t seem to want us to pay off. “Let no debt remain outstanding,” today’s word continues, “except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” (13:8, emphasis added)

You see, like the servant in one of Jesus’ parables (see Matthew 18:21-26), we were in so deep in debt to our Master that there was no way we could pay it off! “But because of His great love for us,” the Bible says, “God, who is rich in mercy, made alive with Christ, even when we were dead—it’s by grace that we’ve been saved.” (Eph. 2:4-5) And now, we’ve got the life-giving obligation of sharing that grace with others.

So today, let’s spend wisely. But let’s also love freely. Amen.