Love covers a multitude of sins

Yesterday’s writers conference offered several opportunities to be jealous and feel sorry for myself by comparing my lot in life with others. Yet this time these temptations lost their appeal because those others are incredible people. I had to love them, and love drives away the negatives.

As many cliches as there are about love and how it makes the world go around, the most important saying is this: The key to obeying the law of God is love. But it must be biblically defined. Modern versions of what love means ruins this concept.

For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:9-10)

As my devotional reading says for today, when I love others, I will automatically obey the law. I will not commit adultery if I love someone. That’s because love doesn’t defile others or rob their purity — lust and selfishness do that.

Love not only excludes adultery, but also murder, stealing, lying, and jealousy. If I love someone, my love makes useless the command about killing. I don’t need to be reminded not to murder someone I love. I also will not lie to them. Lies are harmful and love does not hurt people.

If I love someone, I won’t steal from that person either. I don’t need to be told not to steal, nor do I need to be told not to envy them or want what they have for myself.

Love does not replace the laws of God. Those laws are literally written in stone. But love fulfills those laws because by love I can obey what God says. However, if I try to live by the ‘do not’s’ of the law, I wind up breaking it. There is no human will power strong enough to say no to every sinful desire.

That means being able to love depends on Jesus Christ. Because He lives in me, I have Him as my resource for love. He is the one who makes it possible to be faithful in marriage, content with what I have, truthful when I speak, and joyful when someone has what I do not have. Without Him, and without the power of love, I shudder because I know my sinful self and what I’m capable of doing to harm other people.

I’m thankful that God forgives my failings. My desire today is that He fills my heart with His Spirit and His love, and that He keeps me from temptation and delivers me from evil. I need His help to love others and to obey Him so that my life brings Him glory.