“Owe no one anything,
except to love one another;
for the one who loves another
has fulfilled the law.”
Romans 13:8
How many times have we heard someone ask, “Would you mind doing me a favor?” Maybe you have shared the same question when you asked someone you know if they could help you out with a particular task. It’s part of life and is a helpful way to enter into a conversation. It’s part of the working world, where one small business owner might offer a service to another, and then a favor will be called in to keep the relationship going for the next time.
When we owe someone something, there’s an obligation to pay it back. We are bound to another in some sort of transaction. There’s a debt. When someone owes another, there’s an imbalance of power going on, and the relationship can be strained.
Paul’s words from Romans say something else. Owe no one anything, except to love one another. No strings attached. No IOUs. No counting favors. Paul highlights the kind of love that speaks of wishing well for others, of regarding the welfare of others, and to love dearly.
I don’t believe we ever hear Jesus say, “Can you do me a favor?” For Jesus, love is always shared, as he is always seeking to build up the other. Jesus is all about the best interests of others. I remember a pastor reminding us of God’s love being poured down upon us and God sending Jesus the Son to us – all the while moving his hands in a vertical motion from above his head to his feet. Then, extending his hands horizontally from his chest outward, he said, “Jesus calls us to love one another.”
During a charge conference last week, we had been waiting for one more member to arrive when another member said he would be running late. So, we got started and proceeded through our work together. About ten minutes into our meeting, the member arrived, and we thanked him for coming. Someone asked if everything was okay, and he told us a local farmer had some cows get loose, and he went over to his neighbor to help.
D. Elton Trueblood, in A Pocket Book of Discipleship, said a contagious faith is, “A Christian is a person who has fallen in love with Jesus Christ and who is, consequently, willing to witness to that love and to try to demonstrate it, as Christ’s emissary, to all the rest of God’s children.” I believe our friend who made time to help his neighbor out with those cattle was Christ’s emissary on a Tuesday afternoon in Robeson County.
Friends, where is the Spirit nudging you to love one another? Is someone you know on a wayward path and needs loving? Is someone nearby lost in their hurt or in their suffering and needs loving? Is somebody trying to share love with you, and you need to practice graceful surrender and be loved?
Many of you are participating in food ministries within your communities and are truly serving as Christ’s emissaries in your local communities. Keep at it, friends, and if you’re feeling the Spirit speak into your heart about how this kind of ministry could happen in your local context, push the play button on this inspiring video from one of our Gateway churches as they strive to love one another.
For more information about the NC Rural Center and how you might partner with them, check out this link:
https://www.ncruralcenter.org/engagement/faith-in-rural-communities/
Blessings,
David