Find & Follow Jesus, Quarter 4නියැදිය

Devotional:

“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 (NIV)

When asked to summarize the vast and complex law of God, Jesus gave a stunningly simple answer: love. Love God completely. Love people genuinely. These two commandments are not only connected—they’re inseparable.

Loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind is an all-encompassing call. It doesn’t mean loving Him only when it’s convenient or emotionally stirring, but with the full capacity of who we are—our emotions, thoughts, desires, and choices. God desires more than partial affection; He longs to be the center of our lives.

And then Jesus takes it further: love your neighbor as yourself. Our love for God is meant to overflow into love for others. It’s not a passive or sentimental kind of love—it’s active, selfless, and often costly. It means showing grace when it’s undeserved, listening when it’s inconvenient, and serving when it requires sacrifice. And, counter culturally, it means we love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves, not less as some currently espouse. Jesus is clear - loving others well is part of our mandate as His followers.

Ultimately, these verses confront our self-centered tendencies and call us into a life shaped by deep, relational love. They are not merely moral commands—they’re a divine invitation into the heart of God’s kingdom and into stepping into the lives of those around us so we can love them well.

Prayer:

Do you have a “hard to get along with” neighbor? Someone whose dog barks at 4 am every morning? The noisy upstairs neighbor? Maybe a coworker who takes credit for your great ideas? Does Jesus really mean we love them? Ask God to begin giving you His heart for that person. Then pray a blessing for them.