Do Unto Others Daily Devotional for Oct 9, 2024

The entire 5 weeks of daily devotionals that accompany the Do Unto Others Campaign for Kindness is available here: DailyDevotionals

Day 1: Jesus identified the greatest commandments.
Scripture: Matthew 22:36-40

Context: Jewish rabbis debated: were all commandments equal or was there a greater one? Asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus chose not one but two. The first was Deuteronomy 6:4: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind.” But he added Leviticus 19:18: “You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Jesus said the point of all other truths is to lead us to love God and neighbor more fully. God wants us to show contagious love to all we know.

Reflection:
• Jesus said every key Bible principle, all the truths we know about what God wants, “depend” on the two commands he quoted. What do you believe made these two commands so foundational in Jesus’ thinking, teaching and living? Can you recall any time when some belief you held led you to love God or some of your neighbors less, maybe even without realizing it?
• That second command can be challenging. Loving others the way we love ourselves is based on how God loves us—never giving up, no matter what. Our humanity makes it hard for us to love ourselves or others with God’s unwarranted love with no hesitation. But God calls us to move toward that, for our own sake
and the sake of others. What has stopped you or made it hard for you to love yourself or someone else persistently? How might you love more fully?

Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for loving me unconditionally. Help me to recognize the moments in my life
when I can relentlessly love those around me. Amen.