Today's Passage:  Romans 13

The second half of Romans 13 is one of my favorite passages because it so quickly and eloquently sums up where I should be as a believer.  Love, Paul says, is the fulfillment of the law.  All the "rules" that we associate with holy living...whether from the Old Testament law or the New Testament command to follow Christ's example...all these rules are summed up in the call to love the world the way that God loves it.  If we would love our neighbor like Jesus loves people, we'd have no trouble following the path of righteousness.

But Paul doesn't stop there..he commands the Roman church to wake up!  He tells them to quit walking around as if they were asleep...in some kind of fog...in a place where what they are doing doesn't matter...as if they have all the time in the world...because the hour is at hand.  "Quit living in the sin of the old life and start living the way Jesus told you to live!"  Clothe yourself with Jesus instead of the things of the world, says Paul, and you'll be able to wake up and resist that sin that traps you.

What great words for the Roman church and the modern church as well!  Wake up and love.  Your actions count, so make the most of them by loving people.  Don't love sin...love people.  Live every day as if you must repay a love debt...a debt that was paid on the cross...a debt that can never be fully repaid.