The Freedom to Love and Serve

The Freedom to Love and Serve

Leviticus 19:18 — NLT

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

Matthew 7:7–8, 12 — NLT

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”

Galatians 5:13-14

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Freedom to Love and Serve

Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to be nice when you're having a good day?

When we're rested, things are going our way, and nobody has pushed our buttons, we can smile, wave, be patient, and give people the benefit of the doubt.

But let somebody irritate us when we're tired, frustrated, or already carrying a load of our own, and suddenly loving our neighbor doesn't seem quite so simple!

That's where the rubber meets the road.

Yesterday was a beautiful reminder of what loving our neighbors can actually look like.

We volunteered at our Food Cupboard, and there were over two pallets of food waiting to be sorted and distributed. Most of it will be going out between 9 and noon today.

Our little Cupboard is expected to see around 50 clients just today.

What struck me was the volunteers.

There were so many people coming together to help feed people who are struggling—and the funny thing is, about 95% of the volunteers are struggling too!

We're not a bunch of people who have everything figured out, standing around helping people who don't.

We're people helping people.

That's what community looks like.

And one of our volunteers, Doris, is in her late 80s.

That woman is a power keg! 😂

We all love Doris.

She works hard, laughs, keeps moving, and somehow reminds all of us that age doesn't determine whether God can still use you.

We worked hard yesterday, but we laughed, too. And when we were finished, we even came home with a few goodies.

Ice cream cones!

Now that's my kind of blessing! 😂🍦

Sometimes God gives us a profound spiritual lesson.

Sometimes He gives us an ice cream cone.

I'll take both!

Love That Doesn't Keep Score

Leviticus tells us not to seek revenge or hold a grudge, but instead to love our neighbor as ourselves.

The Hebrew word for love used here is ’ahavah (אַהֲבָה), meaning love, affection, or a deep commitment to the good of another.

That last part really gets me.

Biblical love isn't simply an emotion.

It isn't always “I really like this person.”

Sometimes biblical love looks more like:

“Lord, I'm having a hard time with this person today, but I'm going to choose to treat them the way You would want me to.”

That's different.

And honestly, sometimes that's much harder.

We naturally keep score.

They hurt me.

They didn't appreciate me.

I did something for them, and they never did anything for me.

Why should I be the one to forgive?

But God tells us to put down the scorecard.

Not because what happened didn't matter.

Not because we're supposed to pretend we weren't hurt.

But because carrying resentment eventually hurts us more than it hurts the person we're angry with.

God doesn't ask us to deny our feelings.

He asks us to surrender them.

Ask. Seek. Knock.

Then Jesus gives us the practical part.

Ask. Seek. Knock.

The Greek words Jesus uses are wonderfully active: aiteō means to ask or request, zēteō means to seek or earnestly look for, and krouō means to knock.

There's movement in all three.

Ask.

Seek.

Knock.

Don't just sit there stewing.

Don't rehearse the offense over and over.

Don't spend all day building a case for why you're right.

Ask God for help.

“Lord, I don't know how to love this person today. Please help me.”

“Lord, I'm still angry. Help me let go.”

“Lord, I want to forgive, but I'm not there yet. Please change my heart.”

And then seek Him.

Knock on the door of His grace.

Because sometimes the thing we need most isn't for God to change them.

Sometimes it's for God to change us.

And believe me, I'm including myself in that one! 😂

The Golden Rule Is More Than a Saying

Jesus follows all of this with what we call the Golden Rule:

“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.”

That's not just a nice saying to put on a refrigerator magnet.

It's a daily decision.

Before I speak, how would I want someone to speak to me?

Before I judge, how would I want someone to treat me if they knew the whole story?

Before I become impatient, how much patience would I want someone to have with me?

Before I decide someone doesn't deserve kindness, do I remember how much kindness God has shown me?

And then there's Paul.

He takes it one step further.

Freedom Isn't Just Doing Whatever We Want

Galatians tells us that we've been called to live in freedom.

But Christian freedom isn't simply:

“I can do whatever I want.”

It's:

“I am free to love.”

I am free to serve.

I am free to forgive.

I am free to stop keeping score.

I am free to choose kindness even when kindness isn't my first reaction.

The Greek word Paul uses for serve carries the idea of serving one another as a servant.

And there's something beautiful about that.

Yesterday at the Food Cupboard, nobody was asking:

“What's in it for me?”

People simply showed up.

They sorted food.

They carried boxes.

They greeted people.

They laughed together.

They helped feed their neighbors.

And many of those volunteers are struggling themselves.

That's the body of Christ in action.

It's not always inside a church building.

Sometimes it's in a little Food Cupboard surrounded by pallets of food.

Sometimes it's an elderly woman named Doris working harder than people half her age.

Sometimes it's two people showing up when they don't have much themselves and saying,

“How can we help?”

And sometimes, apparently, it's coming home with ice cream cones. 😂

And Then There Was the Light

Yesterday there was another little blessing I don't want to overlook.

After six months without electricity, walking into our bathroom—a room with no windows—and flipping a switch to have the light actually come on felt almost unbelievable.

It sounds like such a tiny thing.

Flip a switch.

Light.

But after living without it for so long, it felt like a miracle.

And maybe that's another lesson God is teaching me.

Sometimes we become so accustomed to darkness that we forget how wonderful light is.

Then one little switch flips, and suddenly we're reminded.

Darkness doesn't get the final word.

John 1:5 tells us that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

That's Jesus.

And maybe that's what serving one another does, too.

We become little reflections of His light.

One person brings food.

Another carries a box.

Someone offers a smile.

Someone forgives.

Someone volunteers.

Someone prays.

Someone shows up even though they're struggling themselves.

And suddenly, what looked like a dark place isn't quite so dark anymore.

That's how God's Kingdom works.

One little light at a time.

This little light of mine.

So today, let's remember:

We don't have to love perfectly.

We don't have to have unlimited patience.

We don't have to figure everything out by ourselves.

We can ask.

We can seek.

We can knock.

And then we can take the grace God gives us and pass it along.

Because Jesus didn't set us free so we could spend our freedom keeping score.

He set us free so we could love.

So today, if somebody tests your patience, pause.

Ask God for help.

If somebody has hurt you, ask God for the grace to begin letting go.

If somebody needs help, serve.

And if you get the opportunity to love someone who doesn't have much to give back to you, remember:

That's exactly the kind of love Jesus has been showing us all along.

And if you happen to receive an ice cream cone along the way...

Well, I'd call that a pretty sweet reminder that God loves to sprinkle a little joy into the middle of the work, too. ❤️🍦

A Prayer for Today

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the light.

Thank You for the little things we sometimes take for granted until they're gone.

Thank You for electricity, warm homes, food on the table, friends, church families, volunteers, laughter, and yes, even ice cream cones.

Lord, help us love our neighbors the way You have called us to love them.

When we're tempted to hold a grudge, help us release it.

When we're angry, give us wisdom.

When we're impatient, give us patience.

When we're hurt, give us healing.

When someone needs help, open our eyes to see the opportunity to serve.

And when we don't know what to do, remind us to ask, seek, and knock.

Make our lives little lights in dark places.

Help us remember that freedom isn't about getting our own way. True freedom is being free enough to love, forgive, serve, and bless others.

Use us today, Lord.

Let our words, our hands, our attitudes, and even our smallest acts of kindness point people toward You.

In Jesus' precious name,

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power,

and the glory,

forever and ever.

Amen. ❤️

BELIEVE, OBEY, BE BLESSED AMEN BOBBA ❤️

Love, Penny 💛

 #Godisgood #faith #devotional