Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Romans 13:8-9

Paul says we’re not to owe each other anything but our love. What do I owe you? What do you deserve from me? The answer is my love. And if I give you my love, then everything else will fall into place.

When we say “love” we’re talking about the kind of selfless, “giving” love that is at the heart of “agapé.” That’s why Paul says love “fulfills the Law.” Recall that Jesus stated that the greatest commandment in the Law was to “love the Lord your God, and also love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:25-27).

Paul certainly was referencing those words here. People who love don’t harm their fellow man: They don’t commit adultery, they don’t kill, they don’t steal, they don’t lie, they don’t covet. They don’t do anything that would go against the burden of Love that we bear. Every commandment God has given is laced with the understanding that we are, first and foremost, supposed to love the Lord, and also love our neighbor as ourselves.

That means the burden of love we have on each other (and that they have on us) can never be paid off, but payments of love must always be made!