Devotionals for the Heart: The world will know us by the way we love others

Focus on Love
A devotional by Jessica Brodie

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Keep the main thing the main thing?”

I try to do that, and perhaps we all do. But some days, it can be so difficult!

The other day I was at the grocery store for one item specifically: ketchup. Normally, I shop with a list so I buy what I need, not what I want, and also because I get distracted. But that day, I tried to keep it simple and decided I didn’t need a list. Surely I’d remember the ketchup, plus two other things I remembered as I was walking inside.

You can probably guess what happened: Three items turned into ten as I browsed the shelves, and when I left the store, can you imagine what I forgot? The ketchup!

Of course, forgetting ketchup is a minor inconvenience. What’s worse is when we forget the important things.

Every week, Christians around the world gather to worship the Lord and hear God’s Word so we can grow in knowledge and become spiritually mature. But what happens the rest of the week?

Think about the road rage and aggressive driving on our streets, the TV shows we watch, the music we listen to, the way we treat people in our homes and workplaces, the gossiping and the constant worries and the lies and the worldly concerns that fill our minds and our hearts until they drown out the one thing that’s supposed to set us apart: Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Or maybe this looks different for you—maybe you’re immersed all week long in matters of faith. You listen to Christian music on the radio, read the Bible every morning, work hard, volunteer at church or at a soup kitchen, and gather regularly with other believers…Only you’re so busy working and gathering and doing that there’s no place left over for the Holy Spirit to move.

All the spots are taken.

Jesus Christ said the world will know we are Christians by our love for one another (John 13:35). In Matthew 22:37-40, when asked by church leaders what is the greatest commandment in all of God’s law, again He pointed to love: “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.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (NIV).

And that’s not all Jesus said about love. He also said:

Love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-48).

Love with mercy and extravagance (Luke 10:25-37).

Love with sacrifice (John 15:9-17).

Love with obedience and holy unity (John 14:15-21).

And yet look at us, those of us who call ourselves Christians. Can others see that love in us? Can they see it in our words and our actions, our mercy and our unity? Denominations are fighting each other over what Jesus would do or say. Christian people are pointing fingers at sin, forgetting the proverbial log in their own eye (Matthew 7:3-5). What is all of this doing to draw other lost sheep into God’s flock?

Nothing.

As 2024 begins, a lot of people are selecting words for the year, themes of purpose or self-growth they need to embrace. Courage. Peace. Hope. These are all good things. But as someone who goes to the store for ketchup only to forget it with all the other distractions, I know the word I need to choose this year. My word is love.

The apostle John tells us, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16). He adds, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

This year, let’s keep the main thing the main thing. Let’s focus on what Jesus said was most important: love.

Let’s Pray: Father God, you are love. You sent your son to save us out of your vast love, and he told us love was the most important thing we should focus on—love for you and love for others. Help me not be distracted by worldly concerns or selfish desires or even hard work but instead to keep my focus on you, on love, now and forever. Amen.

Song of Reflection: "Know Us By Our Love" by Moriah. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is an award-winning journalist, author, blogger, editor, writing coach, and devotional writer with thousands of articles to her name. 

Since 2010, she has served as the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism, which has won 123 journalism awards during her tenure. Her latest book is Preparing Our Hearts: An Advent Devotional to Draw Closer to God at Christmas.

She has won more than 100 writing awards. Jessica is a seasoned speaker and frequent contributor to Christianity.com, BibleStudyTools.com, and Crosswalk.com, among many others. She has a weekly faith blog at JessicaBrodie.com and is part of the team at Wholly Loved Ministries, with her work included in many of their devotionals and Bible studies. Jessica also produced a free eBook, A God-Centered Life: 10 Faith-Based Practices When You’re Feeling Anxious, Grumpy, or Stressed.

Jessica holds a Master of Arts in English. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in communications/print journalism from Florida International University. Born and raised in Miami, Jessica now lives in Lexington, South Carolina, just outside Columbia. She has also lived in Ohio and in the mountains of western North Carolina. She and her husband, Matt Brodie, have a blended family of four teenage children and stepchildren.

Jessica has written several novels and is actively seeking publication through her agent Bob Hostetler of The Steve Laube Agency. Her novel The Memory Garden won the 2018 Genesis contest for Contemporary Fiction from American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and her novel Tangled Roots won a third place Foundation Award in Contemporary Romance at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in 2019. She is finishing the third in the series, Hidden Seeds, now.

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