Love Is Easy?
A reading for Tuesday, March 7, 2017: Romans 13:8-10.
It sounds so easy... just love each other. That's what the Apostle Paul was arguing for in Romans. Perhaps growing up as a Jew in Tarsus, Paul had been overwhelmed at times by the mandate to follow the law. The Ten Commandments are only the beginning of obeying law. Imagine the joy of Paul when he met Jesus and understood the law and love differently. According to Paul the law can be summed up in one word (or three). Love... your neighbor. Do this and you will follow the law to the letter, Paul concludes.
But love is not easy. It's an action. Love is not just an emotion. It's not a passing thought that runs through our brain chemicals footloose and fancy free. Love is a decision we make about another person. How will we treat them? How will we care for them? How will we listen to them and honor them? These are love questions. They are not easy, but they are the essence of the Christian life.
It sounds easy just to love, but it's not. The good news is that our capacity to love comes from the one who loved us first.
Jesus said, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)
It sounds so easy... just love each other. That's what the Apostle Paul was arguing for in Romans. Perhaps growing up as a Jew in Tarsus, Paul had been overwhelmed at times by the mandate to follow the law. The Ten Commandments are only the beginning of obeying law. Imagine the joy of Paul when he met Jesus and understood the law and love differently. According to Paul the law can be summed up in one word (or three). Love... your neighbor. Do this and you will follow the law to the letter, Paul concludes.
But love is not easy. It's an action. Love is not just an emotion. It's not a passing thought that runs through our brain chemicals footloose and fancy free. Love is a decision we make about another person. How will we treat them? How will we care for them? How will we listen to them and honor them? These are love questions. They are not easy, but they are the essence of the Christian life.
It sounds easy just to love, but it's not. The good news is that our capacity to love comes from the one who loved us first.
Jesus said, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)
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