Meditation

Read Mark 12:28-34

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.—James 2:8 (NIV)

Not long after we got married, my wife and I went to a sandwich shop. We were about to eat when a man in ragged clothes gazed at us and asked for food. At first, I tried to pretend that I didn’t notice him, but my wife looked at him. She gave her sandwich to that man. I pouted and thought, How impractical! It is easier to get rid of this beggar by giving him a few coins than buying him such costly food.

After we went home, I pondered the incident. I felt ashamed of my attitude toward that man. I had been selfish. I thought about my many blessings. Those blessings are God’s grace—not my own achievements. And God wants me to share those blessings with everyone.

When I had the opportunity to share at least one of those blessings, I wanted to share only the leftover part by giving the man a few coins. I failed to practice the royal law of love in today’s quoted verse. Because I gave more importance to my pleasure than his need, I was not loving him “as myself.” God has shown us how to love our neighbors as ourselves through Jesus, who not only taught us the royal law of love but lived it out by giving up his life on the cross.

Prayer: Dear Lord, fill our hearts with compassion so that we can love others as ourselves. Amen.

Thought for the day: How will I love someone as myself today?

Hitesh J. Solanki, Gujarat, India