Illustration: Love

The United States national debt is fast approaching $9 trillion. The economics aren't easy to understand, but the basic idea is the government is spending more money than it's earning. Some estimate that if every working American paid nearly $300 a month toward the debt, it would take 100 years to pay it off. Others believe the country never will eliminate the debt.

When it comes to loving others, we all owe a debt that never will go away. In Romans 13, Paul calls our attention to this continuing debt of love, a reminder that loving others is not an above-and-beyond behavior. We owe it to each other to love unconditionally. (Today in the Word, May 2007)