Scripture: 1 John 3:16
This is how we know love: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Thought for the Day: There are a handful of passages that, in my opinion, summarize the whole of Christianity…what it means to follow Jesus. This passage is one of them. Humanity has a tendency to redefine love in its own selfish and self-serving ways. It becomes a “What do I get out of it” love that is in fact not love at all. Jesus – from birth to ministry to death to resurrection – put on display a clear vision of God’s understanding of love. Not only do we gain a clear picture of love, but we also gain a model for how we are to love. What would our world look like if Christians stopped quoting obscure passages of scripture, or taking them entirely out of context, for the purpose of justifying a greedy and egocentric life? What if they begin to model their lives after the life of Jesus, and in doing so, emphasized the central characteristic of sacrificial love…the heart of the Gospel?
Prayer: You have loved the world and every creature within it, O Lord. I am among those you love, and I give thanks for your revelation of love in Jesus Christ. Otherwise, I would be attempting to express something that falls so very short of the love you intended us to know and to live. Amen.
PRAYING FOR
ALL THE LITTLE THINGS
THAT HELP US LIVE
The Love First Life
