Undisputed — Over The Commonwealth - Tuesday
Today’s Verse
Luke 10:27
The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (NLT)
Growing up, I loved my neighbors. We had a creek in our backyard, and I remember my friends getting off at my bus stop and everyone in the neighborhood running up and down the creek, jumping it, and playing all kinds of games. Even in the winter, we would make a pretend creek out of rugs to jump over in my basement. When I used to hear the word “neighbor,” I would immediately and only think of people who lived in my neighborhood, but if you look at the definition, it says “to be situated next to or very near another.” As I have gotten older, the word neighbor has changed from just physical address to the proximity of people. Now I think of neighbors as people who are near to me, including friends, family, and people at the local coffee shop. Knowing that, I think each group of people or “neighbors” God calls us to love brings its challenges as well as joys. I want us to start thinking first about what it looks like to love our family and friends. How does that challenge us? I am not only talking about the brother or sister who's also your best friend, or the parent who you talk on the phone with every day, or the best friend who has seen you through every season. I am also talking about the cousin who drives you crazy or your friend's spouse who doesn’t know the Lord. If we all step back, we have someone in our family or a close friend who has been challenging for us to love or to show love to. As you process, think: Have my words shown God's love? Have my actions cared for them during the hard times? Do I show up when they are struggling, or run away? What is holding me back from loving the people closest to me well? Do I love my neighbors as myself?
REFLECTION
Who is that person in your family that God is calling you to love? What is one next step you can take to love them better? Do you need to ask for forgiveness, do you need to forgive, send them a coffee, or a letter to encourage them? Think of a practical step you can take to love them like Jesus calls us to.