The Book of Romans ~ Lesson Thirty

"A New Light Wardrobe"

Romans 13:8-14 (CEV) Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands. In the Law there are many commands, such as, "Be faithful in marriage. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not want what belongs to others." But all of these are summed up in the command that says, "Love others as much as you love yourself." No one who loves others will harm them. So love is all that the Law demands.
   You know what sort of times we live in, and so you should live properly. It is time to wake up. You know that the day when we will be saved is nearer now than when we first put our faith in the Lord. Night is almost over, and day will soon appear. We must stop behaving as people do in the dark and be ready to live in the light. So behave properly, as people do in the day. Don't go to wild parties or get drunk or be vulgar or indecent. Don't quarrel or be jealous. Let the Lord Jesus Christ be as near to you as the clothes you wear. Then you won't try to satisfy your selfish desires.

When we owe a debt to someone or something, we are bound by that debt. The most common debt is financial debt. If you are having trouble with financial debt, here is a link to Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University: www.daveramsey.com/FPU. My husband and I have gone through this program and owe only on our house now, which we are paying off. It has taken so much stress off of our marriage and life in general. It has freed us up to love others and not focus on ourselves. I encourage you to look into ridding yourself of debt so you can focus on how God wants you to live.

The Ten Commandments can be summed up in one command, the command of our Lord Jesus, to love others as much as we love ourselves. It makes sense. When we love as Jesus loves, there is no room for other things like adultery, sin, murder, ... It's important that followers of Jesus live their lives this way ~ love God, love others. It's that simple. So how is something so simple so hard to do? It's because we try and do it on our own. We have to rely on God's Holy Spirit residing in us.

John 13:34-35 (Message) "Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other."

We live in a society that focuses on self. It's hard not to get wrapped up in it. It's a struggle for me everyday. That is why it is so important to keep my eyes on Jesus, spending time with Him in prayer and study. When I focus on what's going on around me, on how others behave, I get side-swiped and fall. When I focus on things that I want, or what other's have, I miss the blessings that God has in store for me. When I don't give and always take, I become emotionally bankrupt.

Paul talks about the time when we will be saved, is getting closer. This doesn't mean that we aren't saved now if we have already given our lives to Jesus. I think it means two things: 1) Every day brings us closer to our death on this earth and our eternal life with Jesus where we are completely free from this world and sin. 2) Everyday draws us closer to the day when God says, "Enough! Jesus, it's time to go and get those who love you!"  With these two things in mind, we should prepare ourselves daily for any action God chooses to take in our lives. And to do this Paul tells us "Let the Lord Jesus Christ be as near to you as the clothes you wear. Then you won't try to satisfy your selfish desires."

Galatians 2:26-27 (CEV) All of you are God's children because of your faith in Christ Jesus. And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes. 

When we put on our daily clothes, we cover-up the parts we shouldn't expose. Similarly, when we put on Christ, He covers up sin. When we put on clothes, we portray an image to others. When we put on Christ, we show Him to others. He should be what others see in us, not a self-absorbed person, put a kind and loving person. We want people to see the real Jesus who loves like no one else. He attracts those who want to know God. His presence invades the darkness and exposes evil for what it is. Let us walk in His light, love as He loves and prepare for eternity with Him, bringing as many people with us as possible. Let's wear our new Light Wardrobe and shine!