Obligated to Love

Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. (Romans 13:8,10 NLT)

The obligation to love. The idea of something being an obligation may carry a very negative connotation to some. Obligations are things we 'owe'. In biblical terms, it is a commitment that is bound with gratitude. In other words, the 'obligation' to love one another is out of gratitude for the grace one has been shown by God. Sins forgiven, lives transformed, and hearts renewed are both grateful and 'grace-full'. From that position, we love one another. 

Love does no wrong to others. I wish I could say I have hit the mark on that one all of my life, but I have not. I have said and done things in response to something said or done to me that was also less than kind and certainly not from a heart of love. If we could turn back the clock, I imagine there would be things most of us would like to have 'redone' in terms of being more loving and less critical of those who have offended us. The truth is, we don't always get this right. We blunder on occasion and need to take steps to show the love of God to the ones we responded to in a not so kind manner.

I think some of us may be thinking love means we are always getting things in relationship right each and every time. If you are managing that feat, let me be the first to congratulate you because the rest of us aren't always doing such a great job at that! It might make it easier for us if we were to identify what God means here when he tells us we have this 'obligation to love one another'. When he says love does no wrong to others, he is saying it doesn't purposefully plot evil against one another. In fact, it works to find ways to bring good into each other's lives. In that respect, I bet we are getting this 'love' thing right more than we actually realize!

As a new year begins, maybe we will undertake a little bit of 'relationship rebuilding'. Things might have been a little strained between you and another over some time, but perhaps God has laid it on your heart that this will be the year of restoration and renovation. The 'obligation to love' weighs heavy on your heart, doesn't it? God's right there, urging you forward, and he will help you each step along the way. Just sayin!