romans 13

romans 13
v.7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
ok..i hate tax time though!
vv. 8-10 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
i love this passage. i'm not good at it, but i do love it. love is the fulfilling of the law. i get so caught up in do's and don'ts. for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. i don't get caught up in that very often. it's hard to argue. i can argue wether or not a christian can drink. i can argue the wrong's and right's of religion. but it is really hard to argue that someone is too loving.
v.11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep.
you know the time, wake up! the message puts it this way...
But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!
no need for me to comment further. ; )