Daily Devotion: Be Good And Do Good

Scripture:
Galatians 6: 1-10

Main Verses:
Galatians 6: 8-9
Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Observation:
We are indeed living in the last days. We know this is true because evilness is so rampant around us. The Lord himself has given us signs of his Second coming in Matthew 24, and in verses 10-11, He said that many will stab each other in the back and hate each other and "the love of most will grow cold" because of wickedness. Why does the Lord tell us about these signs? The Lord wants us to be prepared when we experience these things, and to never give up doing good to others. He wants us to persevere until the end, to never give up, until the time He returns to bring all those who have endured till the end. And those who will cling to the Lord, those who will hold on fast to Him despite all the trials and difficulties, will reap their harvest at the appointed time!

Application:
We will all experience being offended or being the root of the offense.

The Lord Himself has declared that in Matthew 24: 10-11. However, even though the Lord Jesus said that many will betray and hate each other, we should not use it as an excuse so we can justify our actions against brothers and sisters who have done us wrong, or to be the cause of hatred or betrayal in our church. As believers, we should keep the love of God alive in our heart so that the bait of offense will not have any space in our heart. We are bound to fail if we do not follow God's unselfish way of loving. But we have all received God's unselfish, unconditional, and everlasting love. If we have received this unconditional love from God, we should also love others wholeheartedly. If the person we have offered unconditional love does not respond positively, we should continue loving the person. If we have been the cause of the offense, we should learn to admit our mistakes. Let us ask the Lord to help us learn to love others unconditionally so we can continue to do good and be good to others.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for teaching me to love others unconditionally. It is not easy to love others who have caused me pain, but your great example of unselfish love tells me that yes, I can do it and I am capable of loving others like you do. I pray, oh Lord, that you will reconstruct my heart, so that I will not grow tired of loving others. Thank you for your graciousness, Lord. This I pray in Jesus's name. AMEN.