Text - Romans 13:8
Hello Readers, As I write, I myself cannot believe it - its July Already!!! A Few seconds ago we were in January and now half the year has come and gone. This is evidence of Gods goodness!!
This Month, we’re diving into a funny but very relevant theme - Street Theology versus Bible Theology! Why this? In our every secularizing age where self is becoming more and more a God, we are drawn to error and intepreting the bible in favour of our flesh and self. That is, we are in error of interpreting and obeying the bible only as far as it serves our self and our interests. This is every shade of wrong. Gods word is truth and life. And truth is absolute, it cannot be tweaked to fit any specification. This month, we will be highlighting some of the most popular of these ‘selfilized’ phrases and compare them to what is right and true. First on our list is…
“I don’t owe anybody shi*!!” Okay Okay, we hear you! But is that what is right and true?
The bible says in Romans 13:8, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” Here’s the good news the bible is proclaiming;
You owe God! And you can’t pay him back directly. You have to pay it forward!
You owe God. What do you owe him? Your Salvation! Yes salvation was given as a free gift, but often when someone does us a favour, we owe them one. It is very common to seek a way to express our appreciation to people who have shown us kindness. In fact, sometimes we have to repeatedly show our appreciation becuase we feel it isn’t enough. And this are for very tiny debts or acts of assistance. Someone got you a job or Expresses their love for you - feeble, fading things.
Then there is the biggest favour that has been done us - Salvation. The best gift that has been given us. God divine sent his son to die for our sins before we even knew of our sin and the need for salvation. Jesus paid it all! And what does he ask in return? One simple command broken into two;
LOVE GOD AND LOVE PEOPLE
That simple! So we do owe God something - Love for our neighbour as ourselves. We dont show Love or mercy or grace to people becuase they deserve it - we do it because Jesus paid it all and we owe him! So in a way we owe people shi*. We owe them Love. We owe them the gospel.
Next time you find yourself frustrated by people and their behaviour, remember to look to Christ and his sacrifice. He will provide the Love and Long suffering you need in interracting with the people closest to you. Selah