After telling the followers of Jesus that they have an obligation to pay their taxes, along with other things they may owe to those in authority like respect and honor, the Apostle Paul broadens the conversation to show us that we should discharge all of our obligations to the people in our lives. Sometimes these things are material (money, time, labor) and sometimes they are intangible (dignity, kindness, hope), in each case we ought to stive to do our part. However, there is one debt that we cannot possibly repay, yet must continue to strive toward doing so anyway: the debt of love. We owe God an infinite debt of love (How could it not be infinite when the price paid for our ransom was the blood of Christ?), but rather than focus that effort of love on God who is not among us and has no needs, we are told to consider ourselves in debt permanently to each other, as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, with respect to love.
This blog serves as an outreach for Pastor Randy Powell of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA. Feel free to ask questions or send me an e-mail at pastorpowell@hotmail.com
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