The Ups of Christian Love: Paying, Waking, Cleaning, and Growing Up

We devise countless ways to escape reality, including television, drugs, computer games, reminiscing, and daydreaming, to name a few.

They all whisk us away from the here and now. The Apostle Paul gives us four tasks to live fully in the present moment.

He commands us to pay up. No debt is to remain outstanding. Refusing to pay our debts is unthinkable.

“The wicked borrow and do not repay” (Psalm 37:21 NIV). Continual debt is not a good testimony for a believer. However, we cannot fully repay one debt.

That is the debt to love others. Love fills the law’s requirements to the brim. Holy Spirit-controlled people grow increasingly Ten Commandment-compliant.

Jesus and Paul summarized God’s will the same way— “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18 NIV). Our neighbor is anyone near whose needs we can meet or whose suffering we can relieve.

We love ourselves by meeting our physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and social needs. We love our neighbor by meeting those same needs.

Love is not a warm, gooey taffy feeling inside. It is an action. Love sacrifices continually to meet others’ needs. It motivates us to obey God. Love and obedience anchor us fully in the present.

Paul commands us to wake up (Romans 13:11). We can easily become so absorbed with earthly things that spiritual realities fade.

Paul reminds us that Jesus is returning like a thief in the night. We must remain alert. We should not project that return to a distant future.

Paul commands us to clean up (Romans 13:12-13). Darkness and night symbolize unbelief and disobedience. Light and day represent belief, obedience, and love.

Night clothes are not daytime-appropriate. Let us cast aside the old way of life—a lack of self-control, sexual misconduct, contention, and quarreling. Let us arm ourselves for spiritual warfare. We expect resistance when we seek God’s kingdom and righteousness.

Finally, Paul commands us to grow up. He challenges us to put on the clothing of the Lord Jesus Christ. That means committing our motives, desires, and deeds to His lordship and receiving His resources for daily living.

The sinful nature bites those who feed it. When others examine our lives, do they see Jesus? Do they detect His sweet fragrance in us? If we do not remain disciplined and watchful, they definitely will not.

How would we live if we knew Jesus was returning in two hours? That is the wise way to live every hour. What is your takeaway?

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God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,090 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,150 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting.  

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