The 40 Day TBC Life Devotion

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other” (Romans 13:8, ESV).

As we shared yesterday, we are to pay our bills, pay our taxes, and pay respect and honor (value) to those in our lives who have positively contributed to our well-being. The result is that we owe nothing to anyone. . . except love. The verses that follow declare three things:

• Love fulfills the law (v8).
• Love summarizes the law (v9).
• Love does no wrong (v10).

Jewish tradition identified exactly 613 commandments in the Old Testament. One word, one act, and one expression fulfills all 613 of them—love! Imagine that—nothing is as important as love. Nothing should take more of our focus than developing and practicing acts and attitudes of love.
 
Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians insists, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

In 1 John 4, love for each other is equated with love for God. One is not possible without the other (v7-21).
 
And the source of love is revealed as God Himself, “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

“Our modern concept of love is largely sentimental. Biblical love is a rugged commitment to the well-being of others.” –Richard Foster

Practice this prayer exercise for few minutes: Close your eyes and imagine God filling you with His love. See Him filling you. Feel what it feels like as He fills you. Get so full of God’s love that it can’t help but leak out.

Dave Samples