Jun
5
The Bar is Set High
Filed Under Daily Devotions
SCRIPTURE:
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? – Matthew 5:46-47
OBSERVATION:
What separates Christians from other people? We go to a place once, maybe twice, a week to gather with others who believe and think like us. Well, so do non-Christians (sporting events, the movies, the bars, etc). We tithe our money to help the church and missionaries – both good causes. So do non-Christians, except they may choose to give to the 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk, or give to help find a cure for AIDS or give to the local animal shelter – all good causes.
God calls His children to be different – not just in the way we act, but in the way we love. It’s easy to love someone who loves us back. It’s easy to help someone who will one day be able to return the favor. It’s easy to be nice to a stranger who looks (and smells) nice. Jesus is our example of how to love. He loved the untouchables, the unclean, the unlovables. He loved the outcasts, the sick, the lame – all the people everyone else avoided. And He loves us, even when we don’t show Him our love for Him. He helped us knowing there would NEVER be a way for us to return the favor. And He loved us before we ever knew Him – since before we were even born.
APPLICATION:
I believe I do things that I and society would label as “good.” I believe, and I’m sure others would believe, I’m a “nice person.” But so is a friend of mine. Yet he doesn’t believe in Christianity, in fact, he believes many Christians are hypocritical. So what separates us? Without me saying, “Hey, it’s me! I’m the Christian here!” how can one tell the difference? I want people to know I’m a Christian, not because of the things I do or the things I say. I want them to know I’m a Christian because of the way I love. And I want to love as Jesus loved. I want to love those who won’t love me back. I want to help those who can’t pay me back. And I want to be nice – genuinely nice – to people who are not like me. But I fail and I will fail. But as I continue to sit at my Father’s feet and learn, His love becomes contagious. When I see how much He loves all of His children, and I see how much we’ve messed up His world, and I see the grace He has extended towards us, how can I not let love just consume me? I will never love as Jesus loved – I will be judgmental, hypocritical and snooty at times. But Jesus is my example and I want to strive to love as He loves. He has set the bar high. I just need to shoot for it.
PRAYER:
Forgive me, Father for all the times I have been and will be judgmental, hypocritical and snooty. You call Your children to be set apart, yet we act as if we don’t know what You’ve sacrificed for us. Fill me, Father, with Your love so I can pour that love out on others. So they, too, can experience Your love and Your grace. Amen.