Whoever loves

Whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. - Romans 8:8

I’ve had people tell me (Bill) that Paul’s idea in Romans 8:8 is a dangerous thought, because it devalues scripture. The irony, of course, is that IT IS SCRIPTURE!

So what if we lose out on ‘the law’? As long as we’re loving more, that’s not a loss. And the implication is that the Law was always meant to be fulfilled by love in the first place. It was never about this kind of sacrifice or that kind of wool or whatever kind of food… it was all originally about love. It was given in love, and the intention was love.

The Bible actually decanters itself. It always is pushing love towards the center and Christ toward the center and the kindom of God towards the center. Sometimes we ‘cheat’ and pretend to be loving to get around being sacrificial, but that’s now what this verse is talking about. It’s talking about good, old-fashioned love as the core to everything we do, and trusting that the rules and regulations can never fill the space that love can.

Spend some time today talking with Jesus about making love central for you (and maybe reflect on what ‘rules’ you are tempted to give more importance to than love).