“Followers of Jesus don't always know where they are going, but they always know who they are going with.” (David Platt)
Matthew
22:37-40, International Children’s Bible
Jesus
answered, "Love the Lord your God with all
your heart, soul and mind. 38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And
the second command is like the first: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. 40 All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these
two commands.”
Followers of Christ must be devoted to both loving
God and loving others.
1.
Loving
God is expressing your awareness of who He is; who you are, and being motivated
enough to do something about that.
a.
Loving
God with all your heart means worshipping your heavenly Father with all your
emotions (all the time).
b.
Loving
God with all your soul means having eternity (Heaven) in mind.
c.
Loving
God with all your strength means being motivated enough to live by faith (for everyone
to see).
2.
Loving others is difficult.
a.
Loving
others is giving them grace in difficult situations (when needed).
b. Loving others is proving to them that you are a Christian.
With tender humility and quiet patience, always demonstrate gentleness
and generous love toward one another, especially toward those who may try your
patience. 3 Be faithful to guard the sweet harmony of the Holy Spirit among you in
the bonds of peace. (Ephesians 4:2-3, The Passion Translation)
When you choose
to not love others, you are hurting God. You can’t love your heavenly Father
without helping His creation. (Sometimes someone else’s emergency becomes yours
because your heavenly Father needs you to show His love to others in need.)
Forget about the wrong things people do to
you. You must not try to get even. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. I
am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18, International
Children’s Bible)[i]
No comments:
Post a Comment