Love Rules Or Love Reigns

When Paul starts to write  the letter to Romans, he has been serving the LORD for over 20 years and developed quite a CV of faith. As he writes, Paul reflects on the core of our faith, and I find myself wondering how many times he had a wry smile on his face as he reflected on his transformation from a man who loved the rules to being a man ruled by love.   

As a Pharisee, Paul ( or Saul, as he was known then) would have strictly followed the mitzvot, that’s 613 commandments to help him make sure he didn’t break the 10 commandments given to Moses. This included  365 ‘Do not’ rules, so you could break one every day without repeating yourself if you were feeling rebellious! The problem was all these rules meant that people started loving the rules and forgetting it was God they were supposed to love! 

We don’t need to live in that law loving, legalistic way. Certainly, God wants us to be obedient to His word, but Paul is keen to point out that there are many things that we need to seek God about personally that do not apply to everyone. I won’t pay to watch live football. It’s not because I can’t afford it-  although it is a pricey pursuit – but rather that the way it effects my mood makes me much less Christ like. That makes it a ‘No!’ for me because I want to be reigned by God’s love. As Paul writes in Romans 14:23 , ‘Anything that is done without believing it is right is a sin.’ So, you are welcome to keep on watching football or anything else if you believe it’s right, but right now it is not for me. The only exception are international matches. Northern Ireland rarely features, so I can just enjoy the games! 

We also have a responsibility for others if we want to live by ‘rules of love’. In Romans 14:13, Paul encourages believers to ‘…stop judging each other. We must make up our minds not to do anything that will make another Christian sin.’ (NCV) If it’s alright for me but a stumbling block for you, Paul says not to ‘hurt your brother or sister’s faith because of something you eat,’ (Romans 14:15 NCV) as that doesn’t follow ‘…the way of love.’ Paul is using the example of what can be eaten - a hot topic when Jews and Gentiles were becoming Christians with so many different ideas on what should and shouldn’t be eaten, while living in a city where the cheapest meal for the poor has been offered to pagan gods. I might not be breaking any rules, but if something I am doing is an issue to a fellow believer, I should let love reign. 

I sometimes find that a love of rules can creep in and challenge the rule of love. People might swear; eat things I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole; watch films I would avoid and enjoy shouting at their team on TV in the seeming belief that they can be heard by the players. All of these are an opportunity for me to show that love reigns and Jesus rules! What a privilege.