The Law of Love

For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. - Romans 6:14

In light of Valentines’ Day this past week, here is a brief devotional for us. 

There was once a preacher who, wanting to make a point, asked a new mother in his congregation, “Madam, are you taking care of your baby? Are you feeding him when he needs food and keeping an adequate home for him?”

“Of course, sir,” the woman responded.

The preacher continued, “Now you know the law says that you have to take care of your child. So do you do those things because you are afraid of going to jail?”

“Not at all,” the woman quipped. “I do them because I love my baby. I don’t need a law to tell me that.”

Very often, Christians wonder what they need to do to express their love to God. They want to subject themselves to a law-based system that will make God happy. But the truth is that as believers in Christ, we’re now subject to a law of love, a law that’s not a list of dos and don’ts, but is expressed as we pursue Christ each and every day.

As a new mother knows how to love her baby, so we who are born again respond to the law of love in our relationship with God. So let love prompt your worship, not law. Love the Lord with all your heart and you’ll know what He requires of you.

Prayer Challenge

Thank God for writing His law of love on your heart and showing you how to respond.

Questions for Thought

Why do you think some people prefer a list of dos and don’ts instead of living under the law of love?

What are the things that you feel God wants you to do in response to His love for you?