Verse:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, this is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)
Devotional:
The second most greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. As we close out this devo week together I want to share about being on a mission for people. Jesus’ one goal was to seek and save the lost, me and you got to be two of them. Jesus came to love people and love them so hard that it would lead them to the father. As I read this verse I noticed something I had never noticed before. Jesus starts the first commandment by saying “Love the Lord your God.” Jesus starts the second commandment by saying “And the second is like it.” So loving God is like loving your neighbor. I think Jesus said this because a way to love God is by loving your neighbor. I heard someone say once that the best way to love someone is by loving the people they love. I think that’s why it means so much when someone asks about your family or shows kindness to your people because it shows that they love care. When others show love to something you love it makes you love them even more. With God we can love him by loving his family, his people. The most important thing we can do in 2023 is impact the kingdom by loving people. We know God and we have gotten to experience his goodness and we will get even more of it when we get to lead lost people to him. Loving people is God’s favorite thing to do so as we step into 2023 and worship God, live a life of thankfulness, have a lifestyle or prayer, surrender our wants and desires, and experience his joy, let’s share those things with his people by loving them and leading them to the father. I’ve had so much fun studying God’s word with you this week and I hope that you walk with his word throughout this next year
Questions:
How has God’s love been shown to you?
How can you show God’s love to someone this week?
Prayer:
Hey Jesus, as I step into the new year help me to see people the way that you see them. God give me your eyes to see those who need more of you. Thank you for showing me what love looks like. Put lost people in my path so that I can give them your love.