"The Debt of Love" (Romans 13:8-10; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4)

Introduction

What is a debt? To be in debt is to owe something to somebody. Usually this is money, but could also be an obligation for some form of service. Most of us want to relieve ourselves of debt. Debt can be debilitating and burdensome; we don’t feel totally free if we are still under some sort of obligation.

There are also spiritual debts – where we pray to God “forgive us our debts”. These are ‘debts’ caused by the wrong behaviour … which have offended God (and potentially hurt others). In this case, debt is removed through our repentance (i.e. our sincere regret and commitment to change), and then God’s forgiveness (possible because of the sacrifice of Jesus).

In the case of monetary debt, this is removed when the money is paid back to whoever it is due to. In the case of an obligation or responsibility, our debt is paid out when the promised service has been given. We should always have the attitude and intention of paying out our debts.

However, there is one debt that we can NEVER fully pay off. That is ??? the debt of love!! We have a debt of love to all people that can NEVER be fully paid out. Each day we wake up (that’s the definition of a good day!), we have the same obligation to love others. This is our ‘debt’ of love to the One who continues to love us day in and day out.

Paul says (in Romans 13:8), “Owe no one anything, except to love one another”. When we accept that God’s law (i.e. God’s will and God’s ways) is what we want to live by, then we cannot escape this ‘debt’ of love. The NIV puts it: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another”. This is a ‘debt’ that can never be discharged in full! We will NEVER be able to say that we have loved enough!

We gratefully receive God’s grace and the forgiveness of our ‘sin-debts’. However, there is also a sense in which the unconditional love we have received, obliges us to love in the same way. R L Thomas, writes of Paul, “Paul’s post-conversion service was invested as a partial repayment for the personal debt he incurred when God gave him salvation” (New Expositors Commentary). Paul seems also to broaden this ‘debt’ to include … as extensions of love … sharing the gospel (1:14-15), and living according to the Spirit (8:12-13).

How does this ‘debt of love’ play out for us these days??

Well it’s pretty easy to love the lovely, but then there are challenges outside of this. For example,

(i) the person who has hurt us;

(ii) the person we find difficult - the one who tends to over-power us and make us feel small;

(iii) the person we have disagreements with - this disagreement might just be quiet, rather than public, disagreement, but it still disrupts loving this other person as we should.

When diversity of opinion arises in any organisation, particularly within a group of people like a local church, love is necessary, and should still be primary. We have to weave our way through diversity toward a very apparent and effective love.

There could be diversity in a number of areas:

·        how we like things organised,

·        how we fund things (i.e. how we handle money),

·        our preferred worship style,

·        who the leaders should be,

·        what the biggest priorities are,

·        preaching themes;

then more personal stuff like:

·        footy teams,

·        political beliefs,

·        theological beliefs (because there can be a big diversity here beyond the major points of agreement – there are things you hold to be important, that don’t rate on my scale and vice versa),

·        life experiences,

·        personality differences (i.e. introverts and extroverts),

·        particular talents and vocations,

·        financial situation.

All this can, and should, be freely put on the table – THERE SHOULD BE THE SPACE AND OPPORTUNITY AND TRUST FOR THIS, but sometimes there is going to be polar opposites on show.

When this happens, the priority cannot be winning or losing, but rather how God’s “agape” love maintains relationships (and even builds stronger relationships). There can be a bit of a holding back, when a particular tension appears; but the ‘Jesus way’ is to work through and past that, and find a way to love.

As God’s people we do not have to agree with one another on every issue, but how we deal with difference, how we treat one another in the midst of conflict and debate, and how we speak about one another in the public forum, has a great impact on how the world perceives us. After all, the heart of the Gospel is peace, grace, love and inclusion. [With thanks to Daniel Bullock for his writing on this matter, here and below.]

This often requires a major mindset change. Like we said last week when talking about peace-making, we need to get past a very limited and individual way of seeing things, towards God’s vision of ‘flourishing community’ – a vision of life together … the way God describes it (e.g. 1 Corinthians chapter 12).

The Report Card

In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian church, he prayed that the people there would love one another (3:12). It’s not that they didn’t love each other to some extent, because Paul had already commended their love (1:2-3, 3:6). But here in chapter 3, Paul said, “… may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all’. Paul wanted them to step it up some more!

Now in Paul’s next letter to the Thessalonians, at some later stage down the track, we read,

We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

Now that’s a good report card! That’s a whole lot of love!! This indicates that everyone was loving everyone else; love was being exercised by the entire community mutually. This seems to suggest very little exception! And it certainly states that this love is an increasing reality. PRAYER ANSWERED!

We should be champions of the cause of love! We may have to first repent of our lack of love … to a particular person, or just in general. We may have to follow through on those acts of love we planned, but never quite got around to. We may have to take courage, and challenge any behaviour and language around us … that is unloving, hurtful and harmful, and works against the championing of love.

To actually champion love, we could take the time to share the stories of the actual generosity, kindness and hospitality we have seen and experienced amongst us. Do we have any of these stories?? I’m sure we have plenty!!

Why would this ‘love-debt’ be so important??

(a)  People will know the Jesus-followers by their love. Our relevancy, and the Church’s level of relevancy, has a lot to do with the way we treat each other (and how this impacts the community’s perception of us). To live and act without love is destructive to the witness of the Gospel. John 13:34-35 reads: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” ‘Love’ is the key identity marker of the church – if the church is to point effectively and accurately toward God.

I don’t exactly know how this plays out in a context which is apathetic at best and oppositional at worst. But I do know that this is what the Bible says. So even today, in our secular, chaotic, and often selfish world, love will speak volumes. It is unlikely, however, that people would be inclined towards Jesus, if the people who hold allegiance to Jesus don’t love one another. And that love is often proved in the most practical ways.

(b) Learning to love each other is the training ground for loving those outside of us (the church) … those who we don’t already have a relationship with. David Coffey comments, “In every generation a callous world desperately needs love”. Paul had already made some statements in Romans 12 that are quite challenging, showing that we need to get into the right sort of training (if we are to going to be ready and able to pull these challenges off):

·        Extend hospitality to strangers (12:13)

·        Bless those who persecute you (12:14)

·        Associate with the lowly (12:16)

·        If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink  (12:20).

Conclusion

We can see from this that love is not just a feeling, but rather a ‘concrete good’. Love is practical and outgoing and transforming. Love can be visible in the most ordinary of situations – the smile of welcome, the hand of friendship, the hug of comfort, the listening ear, the tear of empathy, the phone call of encouragement, the lend of a wheelbarrow, the cup of cold water, the prayer of the heart (L Richards).

We read again and again and again … the most dominant of biblical themes (e.g. Romans 13:9b-10) – “love your neighbour”. We know that love never harms, hurts or manipulates; but we could also say … that genuine love never withdraws due consideration or help either. If we can champion love, both in word and deed, then we will see the Kingdom of God come across our community and beyond – because we as genuine Jesus-followers (in the way we live), point directly to reconciling love of Jesus Christ!