Living to love with Jesus fulfills the Law

Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. What the apostle Paul was saying in this verse is like when you were in school and the teacher gave you an assignment. The teacher had the authority to assign whatever was best for you, and you had an obligation to do the assignment. God, of course, is the ultimate authority in our lives, and He has given all of mankind the assignment to keep His Law perfectly. In the previous verses, Paul wrote, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet' and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Vs. 10 continued Paul’s point that agape love for one’s neighbor will do no wrong to them. Therefore, when we love with an agape love, a love that does good, we fulfill the assignment. This should be a great encouragement to live to love with Jesus. We know Jesus never did wrong to anyone. He always did what was in their best interest, thus fulfilling what His Father assigned Him to do—namely, live to love with Him for His glory. We are not trusting in our ability to love our neighbor, but in Jesus’ love them. We love because He has first loved us. If we treasure the glory of God above everything and everyone else in this world, especially above ourselves, we will treasure Jesus. If we treasure Jesus, meaning the indwelling ever-present life and love of Jesus, we will desire to abide in Him more than doing anything else in life. Living to love with Him by abiding in Him becomes our purpose in life because in so doing, God is glorified by Christ in us. This treasure is what we sell everything for. He is the pearl of great price. Therefore, the more we treasure Jesus, the more we fulfill the Law. Love flows only out of those whose ultimate treasure is Jesus Christ. Is this greatest desire of your heart—to treasure Jesus? That question has stimulated me to make treasuring Jesus the aim of my heart in 2024. I’ve treasured other things more than Christ way too much in my life. I am convinced that if by the grace of God I treasure Jesus more this year and every year until that day when Jesus returns or I go to be with Him, I will not be disappointed. I want to read and study God’s Word, pray, and minister in His name because knowing and pleasing Him is the greatest desire of my heart. I want it to be the “why” behind all of my words and actions, not so I can feel like I’m a good person, but so God can be glorified in Him in me. I’ve got a long way to go, and maybe you feel like I do. Let’s not be satisfied with just being okay, let’s desire that Jesus be the treasure in all that we do, and thus we will live to love with Him and fulfill the Law for God’s glory. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com