Be Committed to Others.

'...Let us love one another, for love comes from God...' 1 John 4:7 NIV 
While the Bible clearly teaches self-worth, it also denounces self-interest.

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He said that we were to love God with all our hearts, and love others with the same concern that we show for ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). When we obsess over ourselves, we lose the meaning of life, which is to love and serve God, and love and serve our neighbours.

In a 2003 report, 'Hardwired to Connect', [Hardwired_to_Connect.pdf]

33 research scientists discovered that we are biologically primed to find meaning through relationships.

Chuck Colson said:

'After nearly eight decades of living, I can vouch for this. My single greatest joy is giving myself to others and seeing them grow in return. You cannot discover that without commitment. I first learned it by watching my parents care for my dying grandparents in our home... l later saw it in the Marine Corps. You cannot go into combat, commanding 45 men as I was trained to do, if you weren't committed to one another. You were going to die if the man next to you did not cover your back... By abandoning commitment, our narcissistic culture has lost the one thing it desperately seeks: happiness. Without commitment, our individual lives will be barren and sterile. Without commitment, our lives will lack meaning and purpose. After all, if nothing is worth dying for, then nothing is worth living for. Jesus taught that the only way to live abundantly is to die to self-interest and give yourself fully to God, and to those who need what God has given you.'

Soul Food: Rev 19-22, Matt 19:20-30, Ps 106:1-23, Pro 7:1-2

Written by Bob & Debby Gass
Monday, 10 March 2014

APPS available here

Show Your Love

'...He has commanded us to love one another...' 2 John 1:6 NLT

Because the very essence and nature of God is love, it's in loving others that we are most like Him.

Paul writes,

'And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing' (1 Corinthians 13:3 NKJV). 

And love cannot be learned or practised in isolation. 

You have to be around people -

irritating,
imperfect
demanding
frustrating people.

Sometimes we act as if relationships are something to be squeezed into our schedule. 

We talk about finding time, or about making time for others. Jesus summarised what matters most in two statements:

'Love God' and 'Love people' (Matthew 22:37-40). 

Relationships, not things, are what really matter in life.

So why do we keep allowing our relationships to get shortchanged?  

Because when our lives become overloaded we start skimming relationally, cutting back on the time, energy and attention good relationships require. We become too preoccupied with making a living, paying bills, and accomplishing goals, as if these were the point of life. They're not!

The point of life is learning to love - God and people. 

Life minus love equals zero!  

Mother Teresa said,

 'It's not what you do, but how much love you put into it that matters.'  

Love is the secret of a great legacy. 

In our final moments we all realise that relationships are what life is all about. Wisdom is learning that truth sooner, rather than later. 

Don't wait until it's too late to figure that out!

Soul Food: 1 Kings 18:16 - 20:43, Matt 17:18-27, Ps 66:1-12, Pro 6:20-22

Written by Bob & Debby Gass
Saturday, 1 March 2014

APPS available here