Day 14 | Love Application

Read Mark 12:28–34

How should we love people? Mark 12 says to love your neighbor as yourself. That’s heavy. Examine your daily routine for a moment. How much of it revolves around the love of yourself? So much of our lives are wrapped up in self-absorption. “How does this make me feel?” “How does this make me look?” “My favorite foods…” “My favorite coffee shop…” They’re all about loving ourselves. We can even twist our serving of others into ourselves. There’s nothing like a pat on the back for a job well done to make us feel good about ourselves.

We have to shift our focus to outside ourselves to begin to love as God has commanded. It needs to be in everything we do. Try to view every person you encounter in the way God would view them. Instead of being mad with the cashier at the grocery store, look to see what they might be struggling with that day. Are you angry with your neighbor for cutting his grass at 6:00 am on a Saturday? Maybe take him a cup of coffee and learn about his life and why he cuts at 6:00 am. Maybe even offer to cut his grass if his schedule doesn’t allow a better time.

The more we love God, the more natural it is to love people. So how hard should we love people? Mark 12 says to love God with all your strength—that’s how He loves us. If you’ve ever lifted weights, you know there is a maximum amount you can lift. However, you can always lift just a tiny bit more if you really push yourself. That’s your whole strength. Live your life with a crazy love. Love with all your strength.

When it gets hard, love more.
When it’s easy, love more.
When it’s people different from us, love more.

Pray for 10 minutes