Today’s Scripture
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:37-39
Big Idea
Love God and love other people — that’s the heart of true spirituality.
Today’s Thought
Who’s your role model?
Thanks to our life experiences, most of us know that if we want to learn a new skill or sport or instrument, it’s best to find a role model — someone who knows the ropes and can teach us the tricks of the trade. Watch this person closely. Imitate this person. Use this person as the model.
What about our journey to become r12 Christians? Who’s the best role model?
True spirituality is defined and grown by loving God and loving other people. And in our journey to understand and experience true spirituality, our best role model is Jesus.
Jesus’ words here in Matthew 22 are really insightful. Did you realize
that these two commandments summarize the big themes of the Ten Commandments? Seriously! Take a look at Exodus 20 and you’ll see that the first four commandments involve our relationship with God, and the final six commandments involve our relationship with other people. Jesus took an entire chapter and condensed it down to one text message — give or take a few characters.
And as you examine Jesus’ life in the Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — you discover that He didn’t just talk about loving God and loving others. He lived it out. Jesus loved His Father with every part of His life. Jesus regularly spent time praying to God the Father.
Jesus loved the outcasts and sinners and ordinary folks. He loved the people
who followed Him and the people who rejected Him. Jesus loved the people who betrayed Him — even when it was one of His own disciples. Jesus’
lifestyle matched His instructions. That’s why Jesus is our perfect role model
for true spirituality.
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:37-39
Big Idea
Love God and love other people — that’s the heart of true spirituality.
Today’s Thought
Who’s your role model?
Thanks to our life experiences, most of us know that if we want to learn a new skill or sport or instrument, it’s best to find a role model — someone who knows the ropes and can teach us the tricks of the trade. Watch this person closely. Imitate this person. Use this person as the model.
What about our journey to become r12 Christians? Who’s the best role model?
True spirituality is defined and grown by loving God and loving other people. And in our journey to understand and experience true spirituality, our best role model is Jesus.
Jesus’ words here in Matthew 22 are really insightful. Did you realize
that these two commandments summarize the big themes of the Ten Commandments? Seriously! Take a look at Exodus 20 and you’ll see that the first four commandments involve our relationship with God, and the final six commandments involve our relationship with other people. Jesus took an entire chapter and condensed it down to one text message — give or take a few characters.
And as you examine Jesus’ life in the Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — you discover that He didn’t just talk about loving God and loving others. He lived it out. Jesus loved His Father with every part of His life. Jesus regularly spent time praying to God the Father.
Jesus loved the outcasts and sinners and ordinary folks. He loved the people
who followed Him and the people who rejected Him. Jesus loved the people who betrayed Him — even when it was one of His own disciples. Jesus’
lifestyle matched His instructions. That’s why Jesus is our perfect role model
for true spirituality.
Prayer
God, You know that I want to love You and other people. And You know that some days I do pretty well, but other days I really struggle. Would you help
me today? I want my life to reflect the life Jesus led, with a love for You and a love for the people around me. This isn’t my natural attitude, so I’m depending on You to help me grow in this area. But I know it’s Your desire for my life, so together we can make it through today. Amen.
God, You know that I want to love You and other people. And You know that some days I do pretty well, but other days I really struggle. Would you help
me today? I want my life to reflect the life Jesus led, with a love for You and a love for the people around me. This isn’t my natural attitude, so I’m depending on You to help me grow in this area. But I know it’s Your desire for my life, so together we can make it through today. Amen.
When I was younger, I always wanted to play tennis so my role models were Venus and Serena Williams. I don't really have any role models now.--Jasmin Darden
ReplyDeleteMy role model has always been my mom or my sister
ReplyDeletei've never really had a real role model outside of my house. My parents are my biggest ones - Ryan Harris
ReplyDelete