LCD

"Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments... are summed up in this word, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law."

(Romans 13:8-10)

There are 611 laws in the Hebrew Scriptures (aka "Old Testament"). That's a lot to know and remember. In Matt there's a concept called the 'least common denominator' (or LCD), which involves breaking down complex fractions to their simplest forms. In Romans 13, Paul identifies the least common denominator of Scripture: LOVE! When you love, he says, everything else takes care of itself: adultery, murder, theft, covetousness, etc. If we work at loving others, we won't have any problems with the rest of the laws.

"Love does no wrong to a neighbor," says Paul. And we, like the lawyer in Luke 10, want to ask, "But WHO, specifically is MY neighbor?" We know how Jesus would have answered (see the parable of the Good Samaritan): EVERYONE is our neighbor! Especially those we consider to be our "enemies." God is constantly challenging our ideas of who's in and out of our (and God's) favor. And Paul's statement comes back front and center: "Love is the fulfilling of the law."

I think I do a pretty good job of living this out and embodying it in my life... except when I'm driving. I don't know why my heart changes when I get behind the wheel. My grace-filled spirit morphs into a "law and righteousness" mindset. Granted, I'm not a road-rage driver by any means. But I could definitely grow by incorporating LOVE as the least common denominator (LCD) when driving (especially when people try to cut in front of me or tailgate too closely!).