August 23
Ezekiel 24:15-25:17; Jeremiah 34:1-22, 21:1-14; Ezekiel 29:1-16, 30:20-31:18
When we are facing difficulties in life, it is easy to turn inward. We become so consumed by our own circumstances we stop seeing opportunities to serve. We become self-centered rather than others focused. Israel finds itself in a similar time of difficulty. The destruction of Jerusalem is coming (along with the destruction of Egypt, Moab, Edom, and Philistia) and all the horrors that will bring. Yet in the face of this judgment, God calls for the leadership to "administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed." The Israelites were also called to free their slaves. No matter the horrifying fate that awaited them, they were to choose to love others.
We might excuse ourselves from loving people by saying we are too busy, our life is too hard, or we do not know. But there is no good excuse for not choosing love. No matter how difficult life has become, God always calls us to love him and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We need to be consumed by a love for others rather than consumed by the minutiae of our own lives.
Father God, help me to love others well. Help me not to become so focused on my own agenda I stop seeing opportunities to serve. Amen.
How can you do a better job of being outward focused?
When we are facing difficulties in life, it is easy to turn inward. We become so consumed by our own circumstances we stop seeing opportunities to serve. We become self-centered rather than others focused. Israel finds itself in a similar time of difficulty. The destruction of Jerusalem is coming (along with the destruction of Egypt, Moab, Edom, and Philistia) and all the horrors that will bring. Yet in the face of this judgment, God calls for the leadership to "administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed." The Israelites were also called to free their slaves. No matter the horrifying fate that awaited them, they were to choose to love others.
We might excuse ourselves from loving people by saying we are too busy, our life is too hard, or we do not know. But there is no good excuse for not choosing love. No matter how difficult life has become, God always calls us to love him and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We need to be consumed by a love for others rather than consumed by the minutiae of our own lives.
Father God, help me to love others well. Help me not to become so focused on my own agenda I stop seeing opportunities to serve. Amen.
How can you do a better job of being outward focused?
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