Second Greatest Command
Has the current economic crisis of our nation and the troubling times abroad prompted you to make some extreme changes in your life? Many people are overwhelmed with fear because their financial situation has changed drastically. I can get scared as well from traveling to so many different places. It would be easy for me to think, “I don’t know anybody in this place and this is going to be frightening because everything is new and challenging.”
October had four Sundays and I was in four different states. I started by preaching in Huntsville, Ala. The following Sunday I was in St. Louis, Mo. From there I traveled to Florida. I finished the month in Nebraska. Do you know what I discovered during my travels to each of these places? I found that in every location I was met and surrounded by the love of Christ from complete strangers who shared with me the common love of our Lord.
If you are struggling during these difficult economic times and you find yourself worrying and being scared let me encourage you to offer that up to the Lord. Find comfort in the fact that He hears every prayer, spoken and unspoken. He also knows how to surround us with dear friends during our darkest hours.
What kind of friend are we supposed to be? Read John 15:12-15 to learn what Jesus tells us about friendship:
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
We may never be in a position to actually die for our friends, but we are given many opportunities to die to self to be there for our friends. Even if you feel utterly alone, you can find comfort knowing that Jesus calls us His friends.
