Reading your Bible for today February 12

February 12: Romans 13:8-10

KJV Key Verse: Romans 13:8
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Devotion:
As Christians we really do need to think about how we live... We need to take note of the first phrase of this verse – we need to “owe no one anything”. Granted there are times where we do have to borrow something in order to live, but there must always be a desire to be able to pay back all that has been given to you. The UK seems to be going through very unstable times at the moment but is a far cry from a decade ago when far too many financial institutions loaned far too much money to people who did not have much of a chance of paying anything back! Our lives are the same, not just with finances, but with spiritual and social gifts too; not forgetting love.

The one thing which separates us from everything else is our ability to love but with love comes an ability to hate as well – the result of the lack of love. Just as we should have the wherewithal to know how much we can borrow and how much we can pay back, we should have the ability to know how much we can depend on others. Taking more than we give can look like we are robbing others – just as it looks in the financial world. We need to be aware the more we take, the more we have to be willing to give as well. The more love we are willing to give, the more others will allow us to give and take.

God has given us the commandments so we can know what is right and what is wrong. The commandments remind us to stay clear of things like adultery, murder, theft and lust so we can continue to love. If we get caught up in our sins, we lose the ability to love as much as we should. Love and sin cannot work together because they are opposites. If we are willing to show God we are ready to love Him and to love all of His creation, then we have moved a step closer to Him. He wants to show us His love for us too – that means we have to be close to Him to start with. He does not want to lend us His love, but to give it to us knowing we will give that same love to others too. With love as our focus we will learn to live properly with Him in our lives.

Points to Ponder:
Do you like giving things to people?

Do you know how much God likes giving things to you?