Debt of Love

“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Rom 13:8)

In the verses preceding this one (13:1–7), St. Paul spoke of the debt we owe to civil authorities (for example, obedience, respect, paying taxes) and underscored the point that even this debt should be paid in a spirit of love. It is a debt that is easy to understand for the simple reason that if we do not pay it, we are subject to a penalty under law.

Then St. Paul goes on to look at another debt, one that is a bit more difficult to understand. It is the debt we owe to our neighbor, the debt that is in harmony with the commandment Jesus left us.

What we owe is mutual love in all its various expressions: generosity, attentiveness, trust, mutual esteem, sincerity and so on (see 12:9–12).

“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

This word of life points out two things.

First of all, love is presented as a debt, that is, something we cannot remain indifferent to, something we cannot put off. It urges us on, it impels us and will not leave us in peace until we pay it.

Mutual love then is not something extra, the result of our lavish generosity, that we can neglect without incurring a penalty. These words urge us to put mutual love into practice; otherwise we risk betraying our dignity as Christians called by Jesus to be instruments of his love in the world.

Secondly, this sentence tells us that mutual love is the motive, the soul, and the goal toward which every other commandment aims.

As a consequence then, if we want to do the will of God well, a cold and juridical observance of his commandments is not enough. We must always keep mutual love in mind as the goal God proposes to us through the commandments.

For example, in order to live the seventh commandment well, we cannot stop at “Do not steal” but we must commit ourselves to eliminating social injustices. Only in this way will we give evidence of our love of neighbor.

“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

So how should we live this month’s word of life?

The subject of love of neighbor has a million nuances. Here we’d like to pinpoint one in particular that seems to be especially indicated by this text.

If, as St. Paul says, we owe mutual love to one another, we should be the first to love, as Jesus was toward us. We will thus take the initiative in loving without waiting for our neighbor to love us, without putting off loving.

Let’s do it then this month. Let’s try to take the first step in loving each person we meet, talk to over the phone, write to and live with. Let our love be concrete: let’s be more understanding, patient, trusting, persevering, generous and able to anticipate each person’s needs.

We will find that our spiritual life will take a qualitative leap forward, not to mention the joy that will fill our hearts.

Chiara Lubich