Connections that Count |March 29, 2021
Read
Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
1 Thessalonians 5:13
See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.
Reflect
- Jesus commands us to love one another (John 13:34-35), but that shouldn’t be interpreted as a directive to love only our Christian brothers and sisters. Loving those within the church is simply a starting point, a place from which our love flows to our neighbors. How have you limited the people you love? Have you excluded people of a different race or ethnicity, or perhaps those with different life experiences, or opposing political views?
- How are you tempted to “repay evil for evil” when someone has hurt or angered you?
Apply
- As you’re out in your local community this week, be extra kind to the people who serve you. Show honor to the barista or the grocery clerk by talking to them rather than using your phone. Thank your mail carrier. Leave a big tip.
Pray
Dear God, forgive me for being stingy with my love. May the love of Christ flow through me today so that others can catch a glimpse of the One whose love never fails and never ends. Amen.
