Day 211

2 Chronicles 26:1–28:27; Romans 13:1-14; Psalm 23:1-6; Proverbs 20:11

IN ROMANS TODAY, Paul continued to show us a way of being in the world that will allow us to be successful human beings, practically and effectively living as image bearers of God. As with the entirety of the Bible, this kind of life boils down to one primary thing: love.

“If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law,” Paul wrote. “For the commandments say, ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.’ These —and other such commandments —are summed up in this one commandment: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law” (Romans 13:8-10).

We’ve heard this before. Pretty much everyone in the world shares the knowledge that love is the key. But do we understand how powerful a weapon against darkness love is? When we love, we are making God’s Kingdom visible in this world and revealing His glory through our lives. Paul understood this, and his words ring with fervor:

This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here.

According to Paul, we begin to truly live in love when we wake up to the fact that we no longer need to live any other way. All the behaviors that prohibit us from living in love need to be discarded as if they were dirty clothes. In other words, we need to take off what is filthy and clothe ourselves in love.

“Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see,” Paul instructed (Romans 13:13). Then Paul gave a couple of examples of the “filthy clothing” that we need to take off —wild parties, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity, and immoral living. We would almost call these the A-list of sins. But Paul’s A-list doesn’t stop at sexual or drunken behavior. He also includes quarreling and jealousy (Romans 13:13).

We need to put that in our cup and stir it around for a minute.

For Paul, quarreling and jealousy are in the same league as sexual promiscuity and wild drunkenness —because none of these things can be done in love. We cannot commit adultery in love, or murder in love, or steal in love, or covet in love, just as we cannot quarrel or be jealous in love. This truth invites us to consider what else we may be involved in that cannot be done in love. We need to take these things off and throw them away if we want to reflect the glory of the Lord on the earth as children of God.

“Instead,” Paul said, “clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires” (Romans 13:14).

The rule of love must guide us if we desire to live godly lives. Everything else will snap into place naturally if we live our lives in love. As we reorient ourselves and become more Christlike —as we continue to be sanctified by the work of Christ —we will grow in love.

MEDITATION:

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.