"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:8-10)

Love is where it all started. Before you ever did a single thing right, before you even knew Him, God set a rescue plan in motion because He loved you. You already know the verse: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son" (John 3:16). That's the origin story of everything good in your life.

And John doesn't let us keep that love to ourselves. "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God" (1 John 4:7-8). The way we treat each other becomes proof of who we belong to. When we love, His love "is made complete in us" (1 John 4:12). That's a stunning idea, that our ordinary kindness completes something God started.

Paul says to leave every debt paid off except one. Keep money debts settled, keep your word, owe nobody anything. But the debt of love? That one never gets marked "paid in full." You'll be making payments on it your whole life, and that's exactly the point. It grows straight out of what Jesus did for you. He crossed every barrier sin ever built between you and God. You didn't earn that mercy. He gave it because He loved you. So now you extend the same grace to the people around you.

Here's the part that ties it all together. Paul says love actually fulfills the whole law (Romans 13:8; Galatians 5:14). Think about it. If you genuinely love someone, you won't steal from them, lie to them, or take what's theirs. Every command basically boils down to how you treat people. Jesus said the same thing when someone asked Him which commandment mattered most: love God with everything you've got, and love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31). Nothing tops those two.

So let that love move through you. You've been changed by it, so let it spill out onto everyone you meet. Be a bright spot in someone's day. That's what it looks like to carry a debt worth carrying.

A Few Honest Questions:

1. Who in your life is hard to love right now, and what would grace look like toward them?

2. Have you ever thought of love as an ongoing debt instead of a one-time gesture?

3. Where has someone's love completed something God was doing in you?