A Debt Never Paid

DEBTORS TO LOVE

The greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all that we are; and the second is like unto it, love our neighbors as ourselves. While there is probably no one reading this who doesn’t know the command to love, who of us is not continually falling short? We fall short in that we do not love perfectly and in that we never get to the point at which we have loved enough. It is a debt we can never pay.

Paul makes this point by comparing love with other debts. We owe taxes, rent, utilities, etc.; and sometimes frivolous, fleshly induced debts. We understand financial debt. It is possible to live life in such a way that these kinds of debts are paid in full. In fact, the exhortation of Paul in Romans 13:8 is to owe no man anything. That is often where folk end the quote. To do so misses the point almost completely. Debt-free is good, but is not good enough. You must love!

After pressing the saints with paying up all that is owed in the context of life and legal relationships, he adds this powerful conclusion: Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. This exhortation is a transitional statement that allows him to expand upon details of how love is expressed. Of course, he quotes the law, which includes the last half of the ten commandments.

Love is a debt that can never fully be paid. To pay a debt implies retirement of the debt. It is no longer in force. We are no longer bound to it. Love will forever be a necessary rule in the lives of God’s people. One cannot love today and not love tomorrow. If the sun rises tomorrow, love is still owed. We can never stop loving.

In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul defines and illustrates love in numerous ways. He then speaks of faith, hope and love as three fundamental cords of the Christian life. Faith and hope will pass away, but love will continue in this life and forever. Let brotherly love continue!  We must have and depend upon the Spirit of Christ to enable us to fulfill this commandment. While it is not easy while in this flesh, it is desirable and doable for the those walking in the Spirit. To such, His commandments are not burdensome!

What is in a Greeting?

GO AHEAD, TRY IT!

I was recently confronted with a thought in a chapter of Love Dare (Kendrick, P&H Publishing Group), which addressed the matter of greeting your spouse. My thoughts expanded beyond simply greeting my spouse. Think about it with me.

The word translated “salute” and “greet” in our AV is found 49 times in the NT. At the close of several of Paul’s letters he gives a list of folks that he wished to be greeted. He often sent a general greeting from a church or churches. Friendly and kind relationships seemed important to Paul.

Jesus informs us that greeting your enemy is an evidence of genuine love: Matt. 5:47.

§  Jesus assumes that we will greet our closer relations, either bio-family or spiritual family.

§  Greeting others is a simple way to demonstrate love. Everybody can do it!

Four times in Scripture we find the direct exhortation to greet one another!

Ro 16:16  Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

1Co 16:20  All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.

2Co 13:12  Greet one another with an holy kiss.

1Pe 5:14  Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus.

Greeting is the introduction to a relationship – this is where each personal interaction begins.

§  Paul and Peter agree that Christians especially should be guided by a holy affection for one another.

§  When we come together, there ought to be a spirit of love guiding us, which is manifested by a kind and affectionate greeting.

§  Our holy kiss may be a hand shake, or an hello with a smile and eye contact! There should be the sense communicated that we care, are engaged and find some satisfaction in relating as brothers and sisters in Christ.

§  Spirit produced fruit of love enables us to overcome fleshly weakness and self-focus to engage others primarily for their sake, not our own. (Phil. 2:4)

·       A proper greeting expresses interest in another.

·       A proper greeting opens the door for the possibility of meaningful conversation.

·       A proper greeting may be an encouragement to the one you are greeting! (We all know how it feels to receive a cold, aloof, and indifferent sort of greeting from someone.)

§  What if they don’t respond with equal affection? Love does not act based upon response – your demonstration of love, consistently demonstrated, honors Christ and will have positive effect.

Thinking about how we greet one another forces us to think beyond ourselves!

§  Forces our minds out of our small, limited world to consider the person we are meeting.

§  Forces our minds to think about how we might positively interact to God’s glory with others.

There are times in which our countenance betrays our pain, trouble, sorrow, difficulty, etc..  In such case, we need the affectionate greeting and attention of others. But this should not be the rule of our lives!

If greet one another with affectionate kindness is important in relation to brethren in Christ, and greeting our enemies with kindness a display of genuine love, how much more should this apply to our spouses?

§  How do you greet your spouse in the morning, on the phone, or upon returning home at night?                   

§  Do you think your spouse is encouraged by your greeting? Do you think he/she anticipates your show of kindness in your greeting? Do you look forward to a kiss reserved ONLY for him/her?

We all might be surprised at the improvement our relationships might enjoy if we took this simple Christian instruction seriously: greet one another with an holy kiss. Go ahead, try it! I dare you!