Savannah Burch
Romans 13:8-10

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

 

Reflection:

I like rules – not because I like regulating or being regulated, but because I really hate being in the wrong. Rules keep me from accidentally harming others (both in relationships and motor vehicles). So while we can all agree trying to keep all 613 commandments that make up the Law impossible, I can understand ancient Israel’s desire for thoroughness in writing them. There’s a commandment for everything. Not sure what to do for dinner? There’s a law for that. Who to date? There’s a law for that, too. What to do on a Saturday afternoon? You guessed it… 

 

The downside to such an extensive moral code is the inevitable failure. Even reducing the law to the Top Ten still results in failing others and falling short of the people that God calls us to be. Worse, when starting to tally up good deeds using the Law, it’s easy to forget the “why” for all the rules. Sometimes I use my behavior to congratulate myself for what a good person I am (or at the very least as a reassurance that I’m not a bad person), but sometimes it becomes a way for me to measure how much better I might be than someone else, as though my technical obedience is what God desires.

 

So, if God isn’t interested in checking boxes, what is it God desires? Paul sums this up perfectly in today’s scripture. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” While God created me with a heart that yearns for righteousness, my self-righteousness misses the mark entirely. God’s heart sings and my heart heaves a sigh of relief when I stop striving and start doing the things I know I’m made for: when I listen carefully, when I let go of judgment and comparison and settle instead into being a safe place for others, when I pray for someone else’s needs, when I share my story with those who need to hear it — in short, when I love my neighbor.

 

Prayer:

God of my neighbor, remind me this week that behavior is never the goal of love – yours or ours. Instead, open my eyes to all the ways you created me to love, and give me opportunities to go and be that love in the world. Amen.