Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another. –Romans 13:8
Have you ever received an unexpected surprise when you attempted to pay for gas, groceries or a hot, tasty beverage only to discover that the cost had already been covered?
What was your first thought? Did you think it was a mistake? Perhaps after hearing it was not an error, you thought next of how you could reimburse the generous benefactor. Were you a little uneasy because you felt indebted to the person who gifted you with this generosity?
Paul wrote to the Roman Christians encouraging them to be good citizens of Rome through civil activities such as paying taxes and giving respect to whom respect was due. He entreats them to be indebted only through their love of each other.
In the community of faith there should be acceptance, openness, forgiveness and connectedness — everyone welcomed, no one excluded. Possibly, there were individuals who had forgotten the gracious gift that they had received from Christ through His death on a cross.
When we experience generosity that does not require repayment, we can stumble over the largesse or be buoyed along by the knowledge that someone blessed us that day.
We don’t like to be indebted to anyone. This need to self-sufficiently acquire all we have may seem noble — even admirable to some. Yet it is worth noting that we do not live or work in isolation. We belong to family systems, cultural and ethnic groups. Our participation in affinity groups, virtual or face to face, belies the idea that we can live independently of each other.
Perhaps Paul’s injunction to love one another is a nudge toward addressing our need to actively respond to the gift of salvation. We are to love one another as a response to the gift of salvation.
I’ll be the first to admit that learning to be on the receiving end of generosity takes getting used to. What has made the difference for me has been the ability to extend that big-heartedness to others. It makes me giddy with delight to pay it forward! I believe that’s what Jesus and Paul are asking us to do.
Thankfully, we have many opportunities to do this at Loma Linda University Health. We can volunteer to serve both internationally and locally; mentor new faculty or students; pay for someone’s lunch in one of the cafeterias; send encouraging notes … the possibilities are endless. Join me over these dog days of summer by intentionally looking for ways to love one another.
—Dilys Brooks, MDiv, is associate campus chaplain at Loma Linda University.