Better Together Devotion for Oct 20

Today we begin these daily devotions for the 40 days. Since we began yesterday, this one counts as Day 2. I'll be summarizing and editing from the printed devotional book which was written by RIck Warren. Why? Well, RIck does some good stuff, but because of his Southern Baptist background, he just can't help himself and he tends to drift into a lot of "should and ought to" language. So I am adding a Lutheran adjustment, also known as an emphasis on grace.

Day 2 - "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" Jesus says in John 13:34.

Love is a lifelong learning project as I said yesterday. We really need to learn it. Hopefully, we receive it too. "God considers loving one another so important that he commands us to do it." This is a pretty bold statement by Mr. Warren. But, let's look at what is meant by love. The word is so confused and over used in our culture. First, we are not talking about Romance, falling in love, having a crush. Rather Love is where behavior and beliefs combine into action. It's a mother stumbling to her baby's crib for the fifth time in a night, or a passenger giving up his place on a lifeboat to save someone else from a sinking ship. Love is Christ on a cross. Love is about doing something involves sacrifice. Love is not measured by the minimum of what we can do, but by the maximum God does for us.

Thought to ponder: Love is an act of the will.

Question to consider: How can you show the selfless love of Christ to an unlovable person in your life today?

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