Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. Rom. 13:8.

None of us should have any difficulty understanding this passage of Scripture. If you love a person you will not try to kill him; you will not steal from him; you will not seek to draw the attention and affections of his wife from him; you will not tell lies about him. For "love worketh no ill to his neighbour."

What does the text mean when it says that love fulfills? It means to fill it full, so that no part of it is left void or empty. No act of ours, no business dealing, no social relationship, will be empty of love. All will be made sacred by the loving spirit of Christ.

The psalmist said, "Thy commandment is exceeding broad" (Ps. 119:96). What did he mean by that? A mere external conformity to the requirements of the law is a very narrow understanding of it. We may point to the fact that we have not killed a man, nor have we actually committed an act of adultery, nor stolen anything. Now add love to our life and see what happens.

Love makes the keeping of the commandments easy and delightful. The inner power of the Holy Spirit within us is equal to all that the commandments require. The weight of the atmosphere around the earth is equal to fifteen pounds to the square inch. The adult person sustains a total weight of about fifteen tons pressure. But we don't realize it. The pressure of internal fluids and other forces within press outward, balancing the external pressure. This leaves us to walk at liberty. The atmosphere is not a burden to us. What is lighter to us than air? If we suddenly lost these inner forces and power, the atmosphere would crush us.

So it is with the pressure of the moral law. In our unregenerate state the pressure of guilt and condemnation, owing to our transgression of the law, weighs upon us. When we are born ;again and have the Holy Spirit within, our minds are so filled with the power of God's love that the requirements of the law become as light as air. Every one of God's commandments is intended as a blessing to us. For love is the fulfilling of the law.