Love God, Love People
By John Chesnut, Wycliffe USA President/CEO
Post date: Oct. 7, 2019
When I was growing up, my dad had a rule whenever we bought something that needed to be assembled or operated for the first time: Always read the instructions.
When I was 15, we bought a barbecue with a fancy self-igniting system. Dad said I could assemble it. The instructions were complicated. I read and re-read the booklet. Finally, I decided that at my mature age, there were few things in life that I couldn’t figure out on my own. I assembled the barbecue without instructions.
Upon attempting to ignite the grill with the auto-igniter and failing to make it work, I decided to simply throw a match into the barbecue. It lit! And the resulting fireball instantly removed the hair from my hands, arms, eyelashes and eyebrows.
At times, we attempt to operate our own lives without consulting the instruction manual — God’s Word. Like my near-death experience lighting the grill, things often don’t turn out so well.
One day, as Christ was talking to some religious leaders, one asked, “Of all the commandments, which one is the most important?” Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these” (Mark 12:28b-31, NLT).
I love how Christ was explicit in his response. Unlike human instruction manuals, he was clear. If we as believers desire to honor God through our obedience, we need to love him and love people. This truth is simple to understand but takes a lifetime to institute.
Over the past five months, we’ve been taking a deeper look at our core values for spiritual growth. Our love for God and people flows from being deeply rooted in these practices: knowing God, being known by God, living loved and growing in grace and Christlikeness.
These core truths have laid the foundation for where we’ll go next on our journey to love God and love people — understanding afresh and implementing the first and second greatest commandments.
Maybe you’ve been with us on this journey to this point. If you have, thank you and keep going! If you haven’t joined us yet, this is a great point to jump in and join us.
Questions for Reflection:
Think back to a time when you decided to “operate” something in your own life without consulting God’s Word, our instruction manual. How did that turn out for you?
As you consider your life today, is there an area where you need to consult God’s Word rather than attempting to do life on your own? If the answer is yes, what corrective or proactive action could you take now?
As you consider those around you, does anyone come to mind who’s attempting to run her or his life on their own rather than seeking God’s best? If so, prayerfully consider what truly loving that person might look like in your relationship with them. Maybe it’s praying for them in an intentional manner. Could God also be asking you to find a time to talk to that person?
Don't forget to dive deeper into what it means to love God and love people through our devotional!
Para leer el devocional en español oprima aquí.