THINK TOGETHER
Have you ever owed someone something? What was it?
READ TOGETHER
When you owe someone something it’s called being in debt. Being in debt is not very fun (just ask your mom and dad). When you grow up you might need to go into debt in order to go to college, or to buy a car, or a house.
The Bible teaches us that when we sin against God, we owe God a debt. That means that we have to pay for our sins. Earlier in the book of Romans Paul said that the “wages of sin is death.” That means that when we sin we owe God our lives – and the payment is death.
Yikes.
But the Bible also teaches us that Jesus paid our sin debt for us. Jesus died in our place on the cross so that we wouldn’t owe God anything. And that’s good news.
And there’s even better news! Not only does God not make us pay him back, he actually gives to us. The ones who owed him everything and should be giving to him, instead God gives to us. He gives us all that is Jesus’ All his love and grace.
Do we have to pay God back for his love? No, we don’t pay love back, but we do pay love forward.
Pay love forward?
Yes. Listen to how the Apostle Paul talks about owe each other love:
Romans 13:8-10. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.9 For the commandments…are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
God is constantly loving us. His love never runs out. It never stops. We are always and forever being loved by God. And real love doesn’t say “You better love me back.” Real love doesn’t do kind things and then expect others to be kind back to us. If it did, then that wouldn’t be unconditional love would it?
So what does God’s love require of us? It requires that we love others the way God loves us. We don’t pay God back for his love, but we do pay God’s love forward by loving other people.
And that’s what makes God happy.
Because of Jesus all our debts to God are paid.
With Jesus we can pay God’s love forward.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Think of ways that you can purposefully show love to someone today? Paul says that to love our neighbor is to fulfill the law. What neighbor can you be kind to this week?
And here’s this pay kindness forward commercial again – a good reminder.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus,
You paid for all my sins. Now I don’t have to pay God back but please help me to pay his love forward.
Amen.
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