Love!

Love does no wrong to a neighbor [it never hurts anyone]. Therefore [unselfish] love is the fulfillment of the Law. ROMANS 13:10 AMP

Too many times, we are concerned about other people's reactions to us. We are bothered when hate is their response to our love, when men reject our attempts to help, misinterpreting our best intentions. Maybe an unkind word is said, maybe bitterness is expressed, maybe the rejection is public and embarrassing. We retreat into a shell, concluding we are better off on our own.

Nowhere in today's extract does it speak about the other person's reaction or response to what I do. What I see here is a definition of God's expectation from me, and a clear directive that it is a command from Him, not really mere counsel. In the face of deliberate rejection, I keep loving, because God commands it. In the face of acute hatred and bitterness, I keep loving. When men turn their backs on me, when it is easier to walk away than face rejection, yet God says I should love.

I believe God's answer to our selfish nature is love. God knows we are human, prone to making decisions that only benefit us. He wants us to take hold of him, understand what he has done and the love he has shown, and take the same attitude to other people.

Laws are good; they are meant to keep society sane, but a careful assessment of crime rate and prison statistics show that the law is never enough. It does not address man's deep need, which is a matter of the heart, and a need for God to take over the heart. When he is in charge, love flows. When he is at the centre of decisions, the welfare of other people becomes the focus of attention. As I seek other people's welfare, God, being faithful, will also take care of my own needs.

Am I fulfilling the law of love, or simply following the way the world has always done it? The usual and normal is common; the unusual and the uncommon, which is the way of love, is the way of God. His time of favour is here.
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