He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:21
A Christian may be a citizen of heaven, but he must first live on this earth. He dare not drown in a sea of mysticism; he must not lose contact with the realities of his present situation. In his union with God he should not drop out of the fellowship of humanity. He has duties and obligations toward other people in this world.
What it means to be a good Samaritan on a person-to-person basis is clear. But how are we to carry out the commandments of God in respect to social justice? Should love for fellow human beings prompt the Christian to participate in demonstrations on their behalf? Should the Christian be active politically in the same cause?
We know that in our dealings with other people the law of love is supreme. No legalism, no selfish considerations, no personal dislike of one's neighbor must stand in the way of our helping her in every way possible. That's what we're here for. Our assignment is to serve people, as the Son of Man came to serve. He died on the cross for all, but only those who believe in Him shall see life eternal. We who believe must do all we can to get this Gospel to everybody.
PRAYER: Open our eyes, O God, to the needs of our brothers and sisters, and by the example of Your Son, Jesus, teach us to minister to them. Amen.
(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Proverbs 10-12 Acts 1
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