Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. Romans 13:10 (NLT)
The power of love accomplishes more than laws alone can.
Think about it. Why do we not beat our kids? Is it because the law says not to? Or is it because we love them? Of course, it’s because of love! And because of that love, we naturally obey the law at the same time.
When Jesus said that the most important commandments were to love God and our neighbours (Matthew 22:37-40), He was not doing away with the Ten Commandments—that would open the door to chaos and anarchy. He said, “These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them” (Mathew 22:40, MSG).
The truth is, the more our confidence grows in God’s love toward us, the more empowered we become to love God and others. And that love begins to spread into every area of our lives.
So, love accomplishes two things at once. As we come to rest in God’s love for us, our love grows outward, causing us to obey God’s laws naturally. For example, we choose not to steal from our neighbours because we value them. We won’t kill others because we appreciate the sacredness of life and view people as precious. Keeping God’s laws is a by-product of love.
You see, rules by themselves don’t motivate people to keep them. Laws do not naturally create loving people. The power actually lies in love. The more convinced we are that God loves us, the more empowered we become to treat others well.
Take time to meditate on God’s love for you personally. Knowing His love changes everything!
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