Day 27 - Love First: Those Who Aren’t Family and Friends

Love First: Those Who Aren;t Family and Friends

If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.

...Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
John 14:15-21, 23

Nearly everyone wants to do the right thing for the right reason. That’s a feel-good kind of statement. But it’s no surprise to anyone that wanting to do the right thing is harder than it sounds. And wanting to do the right thing for the right reason is harder yet. There is no guarantee that doing the right thing for the right reason will automatically make others respect you or be kind to you or appreciate what you’re doing. That’s part of what makes it difficult to choose to practice Love First in every situation. We want others to appreciate what we’re doing for them.

Some people, though, will take what we do for them and turn it into something we didn’t mean. Why? They don’t know God, they don’t know us, and they don’t know we have committed to living our lives putting Love First. What kind of response does that call from within us? Anger? Disgust? Hurt? Bitterness? Those emotions can—if we let them—fester in our hearts and keep us from doing what is right for the right reason.

Our goal is to Love First...because Christ first loved us.

Your Mission
Who do you know could use some loving today? Well, offer them some in the form of encouragement, a hug, or assistance.